A Tale of Two Cities
by TruceOver
Summary: Emmett falls hard for a stranger at the airport. Edward refuses to give in. Will they be able to work through their issues and just be happy? *slash* AH Emmett/Edward
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen for betaing.**

* * *

******Emmett's POV**

It's amazing what you can learn about someone at the airport if you're paying attention.

What they like to read, how they take their coffee, if they are an over packer. I always enjoy people watching, especially at the airport.

It's my lack of watching though, that leads me to him. I'm on my phone sending a text when I turn the corner and run right into him. I collide with his tall, hard, and very attractive body.

I immediately back up when I realize what I've done, my backward steps putting space between us, but not enough that I can't feel his breath on my face.

All I see is green.

Deep and beautiful, with a touch of sadness and a bit of anger, his eyes are captivating.

After a few moments, I take a step forward, bringing myself closer instead of the farther away like someone normally would. I can't help it. All I want to be is closer.

"Sorry," I manage to mumble.

The green eyes look down at my mouth as I say the single word and then back up at my eyes. The anger slips away and for a brief moment I see something else entirely.

Desire.

The stranger licks his lips and takes a deep breath.

"Its fine. Don't worry about it."

Then he picks up his suitcase and walks away.

I stand there stunned for a while, unable to move. Whoever he is, this stranger with the green eyes has me intrigued, turned on, and simply left _wanting_.

I follow him, still gripping my wallet and ticket in one hand, and carrying my suitcase in the other. My laptop bag is slung over my shoulder, but I don't let my bags slow me down as I quickly follow after the stranger. I follow him to the security gate where I glance up at the sign and then down at my ticket, relieved that I am actually in the right place.

I show the attendant my ID and slip in front of another guy so that I'm in line right behind the stranger. He doesn't seem to notice me at all. So while I unload my keys and put my cell phone in a plastic bin I study him.

Dark bronze hair.

Strong jaw.

Full lips.

He is tall, almost as tall as me, but with a much slighter frame. He is wearing a grey long sleeve v-neck sweater and dark jeans. I especially noticed the fit of his jeans when he leans over to take off his black leather shoes.

His feet are… Big.

I lean over to take off my own shoes, getting as close as I can without him taking notice. I breathe in deep. He smells amazing. Like leather and wood and rain. His scent makes me want to grab his hand and run and do cannonballs into a beautiful lake under the bright sun.

I stand up and look at his face again. He is staring straight ahead, obviously lost in thought, pushing his bag and plastic tray down the conveyer belt on autopilot. He looks so… Serious. All business.

The contents of his tray hold nothing unusual. A laptop, metal watch, cell phone and leather wallet. Inside of his clear plastic bag of liquids I see a miniature tube of toothpaste, a few bottles of shampoo and conditioner, and a bottle of mouthwash. Nothing in his tray is unnecessary or beyond the minimum for traveling.

I follow behind him as he makes his way through the metal detectors, eager to see what else I can figure out about him. Once his belongings come out on the other side he opens his suitcase and places his bag of toiletries inside. He hasn't packed a lot. He isn't staying long, wherever he's going.

I pack my belongings back up, which also isn't very much, just my usual. Every Tuesday night I fly from Portland to Seattle and spend the night there before meeting with the executives of McCarty's Sporting Goods for a long day of business. After my father's death a few years ago, I took on the small chain of sporting good stores that he had spent his life building. Twenty-four was a very young to take on such a task, but as my parents were divorced and I am an only child, I took it on without hesitating.

Spending the last three years proving to everyone that I'm not some stupid kid – that I can handle it – hadn't been easy. But three new store locations and good profit margins were tough for even the most skeptical of executives to deny. I'm good at my job.

I continue on to my gate, still walking behind Mr. Serious, only sort of on purpose. It looks like we are going to the same area. I watch him as he carries his suitcase and a long black tube that is slung over his shoulder, the kind that holds posters or drawings.

I keep close, enjoying the view, then break into a huge grin when I realize that Mr. Serious and I are taking the same flight. He sits down at the end of a row of chairs, setting his ticket on the seat next to him as he pulls his laptop out of his bag.

As I walk past I discreetly glance down at his ticket. 8D. I keep walking and with barely any hesitation I go straight up to the ticket counter and flash the attendant my best _I'm-a-nice-guy-don't-you-want-to-help-me _look.

After a few minutes of innocent flirting I walk back over toward Mr. Serious with my new ticket. 8A. I've taken the flight enough times to know that I will be sitting in a window seat, and he will be across the aisle in the other window seat. It's the best I can do.

I glance around and curse when I realize that all the seats near him at the gate were already taken. I settle with sitting a few rows away with him still in my line of sight. He has his laptop open and is typing furiously on the keys. I almost wish I were sitting behind him so I can see what he is working on. Then again, I wouldn't be able to watch his face.

Over the next twenty minutes I try to think of creative ways to look like I'm not blatantly staring at the man. The TV over his head is a great excuse, as well as looking at the people walking down the aisle behind him. It probably looks like I'm just people watching. When really, I'm only watching him. He bites his lip frequently, especially when it looks like he is really concentrating. I'm concentrating too. Only I'm focusing on ways to start up a conversation and not sound like an idiot. Unfortunately, I haven't come up with much when they announce they announce that our row can board.

I follow behind him and a few others as he walks down the aisle and then secures the black tube and suitcase in the overhead bin. I do the same with my bag, but instead of sitting down in 8A, I sit down right next to him. When it comes to Mr. Serious, I can't seem to help myself.

He's looking down at his phone when I sit down. When he _finally_ glances up at me, his green eyes meet mine and my breath hitches. Recognition passes over his face and it's obvious that he knows who I am.

I know that I need to say something to get his attention before someone kicks me out of their seat. My mind races but I can't think of anything to say. Finally something comes tumbling out of my mouth.

"Business or pleasure?"

I almost laugh out loud at myself – I've just used the cheesiest opening line possible in an airport.

Every second that I wait for his response I feel like I'm dying inside a little. He just stares. Finally I'm rewarded when the corner of his mouth twitches up into a smile.

"Business," he says, then glances down at my lips again.

I almost collapse back into the seat in relief.

"Me too."

He doesn't say anything for a moment, and as the plane fills up I know that my time is running short. I need to make the most of it, so I continue.

"I have a meeting early in the morning and I hate flying first thing, also with the weather there's always a chance of the flight being canceled. It's better not to risk it and to spend the night."

He nods in agreement and his serious expression returns.

It's now or never so I open my mouth to introduce myself. "I'm – "

"Excuse me." I hear someone bark and glance up to see a middle aged women glaring down at me. I had to hold back a glare myself.

"You're in my seat." She holds up a ticket that clearly says 8C.

"Oh." I open the ticket that I am clutching and give her the best smile I can manage. "My mistake."

I stand up and give Mr. Serious an even better one.

This isn't over.

Grateful that I at least have a seat nearby, I move past the woman and sit in my assigned seat. Mr. Serious goes back to looking at his phone. I spend the next hour trying to come up with more ways to speak to him, and hopefully something less lame to say. I've been making this weekly trip for years, not wanting to relocate to Seattle, but this is definitely the first time that I've ever seen him.

I don't want it to be my last.

I realize that I am being a bit crazy about the stranger, but I can't help myself. The energy between him and I is humming. I definitely feel it, and I could only hope that he does too. By the time we land I have the entire conversation planned out. I will introduce myself, ask if he is familiar with the area and suggest a place to have dinner – the whole time trying to keep myself from grinding up against him.

Things don't quite work out for me though; he exits the plane quickly and the ancient women sitting next to me takes her sweet 'ol time. I tell myself that it's all right – there's no need to plow over tiny old women – and that I will catch up with him. I'll run after him if I have to. But as soon as he is out of my sight I start to panic. If I lose him I'm not sure if I will find him again.

As carefully as I can I step my large frame around the old women and then not so gently push past the next few people on their way off the plane.

My feet pound loudly down the ramp as I run to the gate. Once inside the airport I glance around furiously.

I've lost him.

My heart sinks and I berate myself for not being smarter, for not making sure that we spoke again before he leaves. Out of the corner of my eye I see a shock of deep bronze hair poking out above the other people making their way towards ground transportation. I run after him, trying not to make a scene.

When I reach the curb just as his cab drives away. I pause for just a moment, realizing that if I'm already acting this crazy I might as well go all the way.

I hop into the next cab with my bags and point towards the cab that Mr. Serious is in. "I need you to follow that cab!" I yell as I lean forward, willing the driver to take off speeding.

Instead of moving the driver turns around and rolls his eyes in a _what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you_ kind of way.

"Come on man!" I pull out my wallet and fling sixty bucks down on the seat next to him. He shrugs and shakes his head, but pulls away from the curb screeching.

The other cab is right in front of us, so I try to relax a little. At least now I can see him. My phone buzzes in my pocket and I realize that I had been too distracted to even turn it off for the short flight.

When I see who it is I groan, but answer the phone anyway – she won't give up.

"Rose," I snap.

"What the hell is your problem?" she yells back.

"I'm busy."

"Doing what?" she asks, and I can tell that she's already wildly curious.

"Being a crazy stalker." I might as well tell her the truth, as my best friend she'll find out eventually.

"Who are you stalking?" she demands.

"A guy I met on the plane."

"Don't make me force it out of you Emmett. Tell me everything."

I know there was no point in fighting it. My eyes remain fixed on the cab in front of me, never leaving the back of his head.

"I don't know his name. He's traveling for business. He has a nice phone and he has big feet."

I hear Rose's laugh coming out over the phone. "That's all you know? You don't even know his name? And you're stalking him?" Her laughter is so loud I have to hold the phone away from my ear.

"Be careful, Rose or you'll pee yourself." I know that I'm acting crazy; I don't need Rose to give me a hard time about it.

I watch as the other cab pulls off the freeway and my cab follows.

"I gotta go."

"Don't get arrested you stalker."

"Very funny," I snap, then end the call.

Both cabs pull up to the roundabout in front of a hotel. I pull out another twenty and throw it on the cab driver's seat with mumbled thanks.

As quickly as I can I follow the stranger as he goes up to the counter to check in. I let the employee know that I don't have a reservation, but luckily they have room available. At some point I feel his green eyes on me and I glance up just as I take my room key from the employee.

Mr. Serious gives me a curious look then turns toward the elevators, wearily looking at me out of the corner of his eye.

I move to stand next to him and grin.

"What a coincidence huh?" I smile my most innocent _I-swear-I'm-not-crazy _smile.

"Yeah..." he mutters as the doors open and we step on.

This is my chance, probably my last one, to make some sort of connection with the stranger. So I go for it.

"Would you like to get a drink?" I smile cautiously at him, letting him know that I know I'm being forward, and that I hope he thinks it's ok.

He looks stunned, as if he isn't the most handsome man ever and doesn't get asked out for drinks all the time.

"I…" His eyes move down to look at his shoes, and yet again I feel like I'm going to die inside.

"I don't do that."

I try to make a joke of it, laugh it off, keep it light.

"Do what? Drink? I'm pretty sure the bar will have coke or something else…" I trail off, clinging to what little hope remains.

His looks up quickly, his green eyes locking with mine, determined.

"I don't go for drinks. I don't date. I don't do any of it."

Now I'm the one who is stunned as I try to let his words sink in.

I'm still standing there as the elevator doors open and then shut behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen for betaing.**

* * *

**Emmett's POV**

I'm wrapping a towel around my waist when I hear a knock. I secure the towel in place and open the door wide for the young blonde employee who is delivering my dinner.

She stares for a few moments, her eyes fixed on my almost naked body. Recovering, she pushes the cart through the door. After unloading the tray onto the table I hand her a tip and offer her a smile. She is young and attractive, but a smile is all that she will be getting from me.

After she leaves, I pull on a pair of soft pajama pants and dig into my food. My cell rings and I don't bother looking at the display before answering.

"What are you doing?" Rose demands.

"Eating dinner."

"Well that's boring. What are you eating?"

"A hot fudge sundae."

She sighs, very aware of what this means. Dessert for dinner never means anything good. "Sprinkles?"

"Nope. This hotel doesn't have any."

"What do you mean the hotel… Emmett, where are you?"

I blush, and am relieved that she can't see it. I tell her everything. My brief chat with him on the plane, following his cab, asking him to go for a drink in the elevator. By the end, I know that she knows why I'm having a sundae for dinner.

"I'm so sorry, Emmett." She is being sympathetic, a side of her that almost no one but me sees. "It sounds like it's nothing personal though, just that he doesn't date."

"I guess." Sure, it sounds that way, but how am I supposed to for sure? I never will.

"Awww, don't sound like that okay?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're all sad and depressed and your bottom lip is probably sticking out."

She's right; I'm making a sad face. I'm pouting like a seven year old who is told he can't go outside and play with his friends.

"Emmett. You are a very attractive, very smart guy. You work hard and you play hard. You are nice and funny and everyone loves you. And you're abs are ridiculous. Every guy that you've ever dated hasn't been good enough for you. If this guy wants to blow you off before he even gets to know you, he must be a complete idiot."

I'm about to defend Mr. Serious, to stick up for him and tell her that she's wrong, but I realize that I have no basis for that argument. So I change my mind, instead I defend myself.

"Am I _that_ terrible at picking out guys? Not every guy that I've been with has been a loser."

Rose laughs a bitter laugh, and I know exactly who she's thinking of.

"Oh yes, Peter was a _real_ winner."

Peter. Of course she had to bring up Peter.

"Peter…" I'm not sure what to say about Peter. She's heard it all already anyway.

"Peter is a selfish bastard who made you think you were in a committed relationship when he was really blowing every bartender in the city – on your birthday."

I wince because I really could have done without that last reminder. I don't say anything, because once again, there is nothing left to say that Rose and I haven't already hashed out in painstaking detail over many dinners involving hot fudge.

"You deserve better, Emmett," she whispers, and once again I wonder why it is that I'm not straight, that I just don't want this woman in ways that I never have before. Life would be much easier if I wanted to bang my best friend. But I don't. I never have, and I never will.

"Thanks, Rosie."

"Now finish your dinner and get to bed. You have an early meeting and you've got to be fully rested so that you can convince your employees that you really aren't a big teddy bear made of whipped cream and maraschino cherries."

We hang up and I listen to her, turning off all the lights and trying not to think about what might have been.

.~.~.~.

It doesn't work.

I dream of him. We're at the airport, holding hands at our gate, only this time our trip is strictly for pleasure. I think that the sign by the gate say the Bahamas, but I'm not sure, and I don't really care where we're going, as long as we're going together. He doesn't say anything, just holds my hand, stroking it with his thumb in soft smooth circles. He looks up at me, our eyes lock, and I lean in…

_Ring._

My arm shoots out and I pick up the phone to hear my wake up call. Reality dawns on me I realize where I am and how I ended up here. I pull back the covers and stand up, wanting to crawl back into bed but forcing myself to move on.

Downstairs I order breakfast but end up just pushing my food around on the plate while I pretend to watch CNN while I really scan the room for him.

He never shows, and I wonder if he's the type that doesn't eat breakfast. I worry for a moment, as I always like to start the day with a good meal. But then I realize that I'm having hypothetical concerns about a hypothetical relationship with a man who is clearly not interested in me and that I will never see again anyway.

.~.~.~.

I walk into the lobby of the McCarty Sporting Goods headquarters in a dark grey suit and dark green tie. The tie is close to the color of his eyes, but I try not to think of that because I need to focus on work. The receptionist at the front says a pleasant "Good Morning, Mr. McCarty", but I can tell that she is terrified of me.

When I took over the company I quickly realized that almost all of the employees were scared of me. I'm sure that it's because I am the son of the CEO, but I know that I'm also physically huge and intimidating. I went with it, not out rightly being a jerk, but being firm and letting people know that my father's business is something that I take very seriously. To them, I am a hard ass – and that's the way I like it.

I say a quick hello to the receptionist, Gianna, who probably thinks that I don't even know her name. I take the elevator to the sixth floor where my office is. The office is really just for show, as I'm only here once a week and usually in the conference room anyway. It's surrounded by floor to ceiling glass windows that looks out over a small park. Whenever I get a few free minutes I usually spend them staring out over the parents and kids that playing on the swings and jungle gym.

Rose is right; if I were friends with everyone here I would probably get no respect.

The day passes by slowly and my mind keeps wandering to my return flight home. I realize that there is a possibility that he is taking the same flight back to Portland as me. After all, I know that he's returning to Portland today. I try not to, but I cling to that possibility all day; until after the board meeting is done, until after I've gone over the monthly financials with the CFO, until I walk out of the office and take a cab back to the airport.

He's not at security.

He's not at the gate.

And he's not on the plane.

I fly home alone, tired, and convinced that I may have lost my mind.

.~.~.~.

After another night full of dreams of Mr. Serious I walk into the Portland office. This office is much smaller than Seattle's, and also not nearly as fancy. A much smaller group of people work here, mostly people that my father hired personally, people that are grateful I didn't close down the Portland branch altogether when I took over.

These people still think that I am a hard ass, but they know that I have no intention of leaving the city. They also know that I buy everyone lunch on Thursdays over our weekly status meetings. So they don't complain – at least not to my face.

I walk straight up to my assistant, Angela, who is a nice, shy girl just out of college. Her mother Heidi was my father's assistant for fifteen years, but an unfortunate incident with a ladder has made it so that she can't work anymore. Concerned over her finances, I hired her daughter as soon as she graduated.

Angela is not only grateful, but smart. It's a good fit.

"Morning, Mr. McCarty!" She sings out as she holds out a cup of coffee.

I grunt my response but take the coffee with a smile.

"Angela, you need to make adjustments to my weekly travel plans. I had to switch seats on the plane and hotels at the last minute."

She looks at me, obviously confused, but my low chuckle clues her in that I'm not really blaming her.

I quickly jot down the seat number and hotel name and push the paper towards her.

"Don't let it happen again." I say sternly, a bit louder than necessary.

Angela smiles as she takes the paper and I offer her a wink.

"Yes, sir," she says, also a bit too loud, holding back a giggle.

.~.~.~.

The week passes by quickly. Rose and I go out to a club on Friday night, but don't stay long. I dance off the energy that I need to and then we go back to my place for a Star Wars marathon. She doesn't mention Mr. Serious and neither do I. I would like to think that she thinks I've forgotten about him, but she knows me better than that.

Tuesday night comes around and next thing I know I'm at the airport again, waiting at the gate, annoyed after being informed that the flight is delayed. I situate myself in seat where I can see everyone else who is waiting.

I people watch, like I usually do, only this time I'm looking for bronze and green.

I almost fall out of my chair when I see him.

He walks up to the counter and sees the sign with the new departure time, a frown on his face. He walks towards the chairs with his bags and he spots me.

I freeze, both ecstatic that he sees me but wanting to disappear at the same time. And then he does the last thing I would expect.

He walks over to me.

And he sits down.

Right. Next. To. Me.

I stare at him, both because he is beautiful and because I can't believe my eyes.

He clears his throat and starts to say something, then stops, then starts again.

"I want to apologize."

Thankfully, I find my voice.

"Apologize?"

"For last week. I was really rude to you, and all you did was ask me to go for a drink. You didn't deserve that. So I'm sorry."

This is not what I expect. This blows me away.

"Um, it's okay," I mumble.

He sits there for a moment and I begin to think that is all I'm getting, any second he is going to get up and walk away and that will be it.

But he doesn't.

"It's just that I don't date… ever. And I don't get asked that often."

"Maybe it's because of the big "fuck off" sign that you have on your forehead."

My mouth drops at my own words; I have no idea where they came from.

His mouth is hanging open as well, and some part of my brain registers that he has perfect teeth. He snaps it shut, and after a moment… laughs.

It's quiet and low and I love it. It may be the best sound that I have ever heard.

He tilts his head and smiles crookedly, which may be the best sight I've ever seen.

"Yeah. Maybe."

I smile my relief and rack my brain for ways to keep the conversation going.

"So you don't date… because you're in a relationship?" I swear I have no shame. This man has made me loose all of my dignity.

"No…" he says slowly, like he's not sure how to explain it to me. "I'm not in a relationship. I just… don't really have the time."

He says it in a way that makes me think there's more to it than that, but I don't push.

"Well, you have some time now don't you?" I cock my head to the side and smile.

He looks confused.

"Our flight is delayed. Probably just enough time to go and get that drink." I hold my breath because here I am putting myself out there to a man who literally seconds ago told me that he doesn't date. Apparently he has made me loose all of my dignity _and_ sanity.

"Um, yeah...I guess."

"Good." I say it simply, as if that's that.

I stand and motion towards the sign in the hallway that has a picture of a martini on it.

He looks at me, then the sign, and then back at me. He bites his lip. He bounces his knee.

And then he stands up.

"Okay."

I allow myself to smile, holding back the victory dance that I really want to bust out in front of everyone.

"I'm Emmett McCarty," I say as I hold out my hand.

"Edward Cullen," he says as he grips my hand back.

I smile like an idiot.

We head over to the bar and I sneak a few glances at him. He's dressed casually again, a dark blue t-shirt that clings to him just right with jeans that hug his hips in ways that make me want to reach over and grab them. I'm just looking away when I notice him doing the same to me, and I can't help but smile again.

The bar counter is full, for which I'm grateful; I would much rather be in a booth, with the excuse to watch his face, taking in all of his expressions.

We put our bags down and a waitress comes over to take our order. A beer for him, jack and coke for me.

We are served our drinks quickly and after I take the first sip I motion over to the long black tube next to him.

"Mind if I ask what that's for?"

He glances over at it and hesitates. Like every detail he reveals about himself is actually painful.

"I'm an architect. Those are my drawings."

I immediately imagine Edward leaning over a drafting table, his hair falling in his face, an intense look in his eyes. I like it.

"An architect… That's so cool." I know that I sound like a moron, but he looks up at me with a _really? _expression and smiles that crooked smile.

He seems to relax a bit, and I'm not sure if it's the scotch or if it's me, but I'll take what I can get.

We chat about his job, which is obviously very important to him. He says he loves almost everything about it, except for his boss, who is a real jerk. He has just started a new project for a new office building for a law firm in Seattle, and will be going over once a week for meetings to discuss its progress. He works out of an office in Portland, but lives in a house in the suburbs.

He seems impressed by my role as CEO of a small sporting goods chain. He asks why I haven't just relocated to Seattle and I explain that my mother lives in Portland. That she has breast cancer and while she has been in remission for three years her friends and doctors and support group are all in Portland. She won't leave them and I won't leave her. So I make it work. He nods seriously as if he completely understands but reveals nothing else.

By the time we get up to go I realize that our conversation has mostly revolved around me. I resolve to change that, to find out as much about him as I can.

We get to the gate just as they are calling our row. We walk down the aisle together and I have flashbacks to my dream when he and I are going on vacation. I itch to reach out and grab his hand. My mind wanders and I imagine pushing him up against the wall and crushing my lips against his, running my fingers through his hair and feeling his chest rise and fall with deep breaths.

"What seat are you in?" His voice breaks me out of my daydream and back to the present.

"Um… 8C," I say, hoping that he is in 8D and that he doesn't notice this very convenient coincidence.

"I'm in 8D." He gives me another one of his curious looks, but he doesn't say anything else about it.

Once we are in our seats we jump back into our conversation, which I try to make less one sided. Each time I do though, he finds some way to twist things around, ask me about myself, and answer nothing at the same time.

By the time we land he knows about my parents divorce, my mother's health, my education, Rose, and my desire to one day have a house with a big yard and a chocolate Lab.

By the time we land I know that he is an architect, he drinks scotch, and that he has an amazing ability to not talk about himself.

The most that I get out of him is that he has a sister named Alice, but as soon as it's out of his mouth he clams up like he's said too much and unintentionally revealed information critical to national security.

We get off the plane and make our way to ground transportation. On our way I reveal that I am staying at the same hotel as him again, and if he thinks is odd he doesn't let on. We share a cab, and he insists on picking up the tab. We check in at the front desk and head to the elevators.

Besides his evasion skills things have been unbelievably good. I feel like I don't want our time together to end, and I'm almost positive that he feels the same way.

So we get on the elevator and I take another leap.

"Do you want to go and get some dinner?" I ask with a smile, because I am sure that the answer will be yes.

But he looks down at his shoes again and bits his lip, and my heart sinks straight down to the lobby.

He looks up at me and then away.

"I can't."

I stand there in shock because surely we're beyond this. But I guess I'm wrong.

The doors open and once again he's gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen for betaing.**

* * *

**Edward's POV**

The elevator door shuts behind me, and I want to bang my head against the wall. I can't believe what I've just done to Emmett… Again.

I'm such a jackass.

I pace in front of the elevator, knowing that he is somewhere up on the 7th floor, my hand itching to push the button so that I can find him and tell him that I've changed my mind.

But I don't… Because I'm a jackass.

I march forward, putting one foot in front of the other, determined to show some restraint and make it to my room.

Once inside I throw down my bag, hang up my suit, and pick up the hotel phone.

"Room Service. How may I help you, Mr. Cullen?"

"I would like two orders of French Fries please."

"Anything else, Sir?"

"No thank you."

I am assured that my order will be delivered in twenty minutes, so I figure that I have time for a shower. I let the hot water run down over me, but I don't feel cleansed of the guilt. Even after spending most of the evening being turned on from being around Emmett, I don't let myself jerk off to images of him on his knees in front of me, his lips around me, like I've been doing all week. I don't deserve that right now.

I climb out of the shower, just as there is a knock on the door. Dripping wet, I secure a towel around my waist and answer it. A young blonde woman stands there staring at me. She mumbles something that sounds like "best job ever" and places a tray loaded with fries down on the desk.

I try not to think about Emmett – smart, funny, confident, caring, and incredibly attractive Emmett. Because I can't have him – and it's killing me.

Maybe in another life we could be together. In that life, he would ask me to get a drink, and I would say yes. By the end of the night, my lips would meet his, and we wouldn't part until we were sure when we would see each other again.

But that's not my life.

Not that I hate my life, not at all. My life is filled with many great things. It's what I don't have that's painful.

I sit on the couch, my hair still dripping wet, staring at the circle pattern in the carpet. In a sort of trance, I think back on the night that took so much away from me.

_I'm twenty-one and have returned home after graduating from the University of Chicago with my Architecture degree. I'm unemployed and kind of enjoying it, spending the night in with eight year old Alice while our parents are out at a fancy restaurant up in the mountains. _

_Alice has a bad dream, so I let her stay up, and we watch _Finding Nemo_ together. She falls back asleep in the middle of it, and I carry her to bed and tuck her back in. There is a loud knock on the front door…I have a sinking feeling in my gut and I open it to see two police officers with solemn expressions. They come inside and tell me that they have bad news. That my parents were on their way home when the winding road crumbled underneath them and their car tumbled down into a ravine. They died instantly. _

_I sit on the couch in shock, tears streaming down my face when Alice wakes up and comes into the living room. She wants to know who the strange men are and why I'm crying. She sits on my lap and puts her arms around me and tells me I'm the best big brother ever and that Nemo's dad finds him in the end of the movie and not to worry, everything is going to be okay. _

_In that instant, I know that I will do anything for Alice. Anything. I will be her father, her mother, her brother. Nothing will ever be more important than her. _

_So that's what I try to do. I comfort Alice, I find a job, and I help her with school. I am determined that Alice will have everything she needs and always have someone to support her. I don't want her to miss out on anything, not after she's lost so much. _

_But…like everyone, I want more. I want someone to love deeply and truly and be loved in return. When Alice is twelve I start dating Garrett. I'm hesitant - I think that he won't understand that Alice comes first. I think that he will get sick of spending our nights helping Alice with her homework and our weekends at her cheerleading competitions. He insists that he won't. For nine months, I am happy. For nine months, I live in a world where I can have it all. _

_And then it's over. Garrett tells me that he can't play the part of "dad" anymore. That he's still young and that he wants to really "live"._

_I tell him to fuck off._

_I tell Alice that we're better off without him._

_She asks why Garrett stopped liking her. She asks what she can do to fix it, to make him come back._

_She cries a lot._

_I cry too. Tears of hurt and anger __–__ but mostly tears for Alice. _

I sigh and shake my head, willing the painful memories to disappear. I pick up some fries and start eating my dinner, but I know where I can seek greater comfort.

I pick up my phone and dial my favorite person. She answers after two rings.

"Edward!" Alice yells happily into the phone.

"Hey, what are you up to?"

"I'm at Bella's. We're trying to figure out what we want to eat. What are you doing?"

"Eating dinner."

"What are you having?" She asks, and I hear whispers coming through over the line beside her.

I glance down at my plate full of my fries, and I hesitate.

"Salad."

"Bor-ing." She responds and I'm sure that she's rolling her eyes. "We eat enough of that at home. Don't you want to relax a little while you're out of town? Try something new?"

Yes.

Desperately.

And all I can think of is Emmett.

I hear more whispers and then Alice muttering back "Okay, okay! I'll tell him!"

"Alice?"

"Bella wants me to tell you hi."

I chuckle. "Tell Bella hello for me."

"Edward says hi." Alice repeats to Bella and I hear a squeal beside her.

"Did you finish your homework? Did you turn in your permission slip for the field trip? How did your Biology test go?"

I know that I'm bombarding her with questions, but I can't help it. Normally, we would be discussing these things over dinner together, but instead I'm in Seattle. Luckily, Bella's father Charlie is nice enough to let Alice stay with them on the nights that I have to be out of town. The girls love it of course, because what fifteen year old doesn't love sleepovers in the middle of the week?

"Yes, yes, and excellent." Alice reassures me. I know that I probably don't even have to ask. Alice is very responsible. She gets straight As, is on the cheerleading squad, and is vice-president of the school's community service club. Anything she puts her mind to, she does. She wants to be a doctor, and I have no doubt that she'll succeed. I really don't need to worry about her…but I do.

I hear more whispers on the line.

"Fine! Bella wants me to tell you that she thinks she aced the test too." Alice says to me and then away from the phone I hear her say, "Seriously, Bella cut it out okay? Edward is _gay_ and he's my _brother_. You're grossing me out."

I hear something that sounds like "You're dead" and I chuckle. Bella seems to have developed a crush on me recently, and it annoys the hell out of Alice.

"Well how was your day? Did you get the –"

"Sorry, Edward, I have to go. We still don't know what we're going to eat and _True Blood_ is on tonight."

"What? Since when do the Swans have HBO? Alice?"

"Gotta go, Edward! Love you!"

She hangs up and the line goes dead. I've never seen the show, but I've heard that it involves lots of hot guys and blood. I shudder at the thought of Alice watching anything too graphic. Then again…she's almost sixteen. Fifteen is too young… Isn't it? When am I supposed to stop shielding her from this stuff?

I ask myself questions like this every day – every day for the last seven years.

Alice is the light of my life, but some days I long for something else, something _more_.

But _more_ isn't an option.

I haven't dated anyone since Garrett. I won't let someone else into our lives just to have them change their mind and leave – I won't do that to Alice again. Not when she's been through so much already.

A relationship is not an option. And because I don't want to send the wrong message to Alice, neither are casual hookups.

This is the way that I live my life only… I hadn't meant to hurt Emmett.

I go to bed alone, my thoughts still on him.

.~.~.~.

The next day I arrive at the airport in a hurry, having needed to leave the meeting early for the second week in a row. Clearly, I should be taking a later flight, so I email the office admin and ask her to change my flight for next week.

When I get back to Portland, I head straight to the Swan's, where Alice and Bella are studying. I walk up the front steps just as Charlie comes out.

Charlie is a good man. I'm grateful for him and for Bella, helping to fill some of the voids in Alice's life.

"Hi, Charlie, thanks again for letting Alice stay over."

"Alice is always welcome here, you both are, Edward."

I smile and move towards the door when Charlie stops me.

"How are you doing, Edward?"

I freeze, not because of his question, but because of the tone of his voice. It makes me nervous.

"Um, pretty good. Alice says the semester is going well, and she's starting one of those SAT prep courses soon and then Regionals are coming up so that means extra pra–"

"That's not what I asked."

I stand there stunned, because wasn't that his question?

"I asked how _you_ are, Edward, not Alice."

I don't know what to say, so I don't say anything, I just stand there.

"Edward…you do an amazing job with Alice. Really, she's better off than a lot of kids who have families the size of small villages. But you need to make sure that you take care of yourself too."

"I take care of myself." I mutter, because I really think I do. I have a stable job that I love, a nice home and an amazing baby sister.

"That's not what I mean…" I feel bad. Charlie is not a man of many words, and I can tell that this conversation is a struggle for him. "What I mean is, sometimes you need to do things just because they make you happy. Being happy… It's not always a selfish thing to do Edward. When you're happy, others are happy too."

I stand there in shock for a moment, not really able to process his words.

I hear Alice and Bella running down the stairs, and I can hear Bella bugging Alice about what she is going to wear to school tomorrow. I focus again on what's going on. Bella says that it will be pretty warm out, they should wear skirts. Alice tells her that she would rather stick needles under her fingernails. I can't even count how many times I've heard this same conversation between them.

When they reach the door Alice – dressed in torn jeans and an oversized t-shirt - runs up and throws her arm around me.

"Edward! I missed you!"

I pulled her into a big hug and kiss her check. "I missed you too, Ali."

I put Alice down and see Bella watching us, a smile and a slight blush on her face.

"Hi, Bella, did you have fun?"

"Oh yeah, we always have fun Edward."

"Good." I turn to Alice and put my hand on her shoulder. "Ready to go?"

We say our goodbyes and walk to my Volvo, which Alice likes to call my "dadwagon". She climbs in and tells me for the hundredth time that I'm never going to get a boyfriend if I keep driving a car like this. I remind her again of its safety ratings, and she rolls her eyes.

That night Alice curls up on the couch with a book, and I sit at my drafting table, working, thinking.

"What are thinking about, Edward?" she says with a tilt of her head.

I'm thinking about her, about the future, about _life_, but I don't want to burden her with my worries.

"Work."

"Geez, Edward, you're so serious all the time. Sometimes it's hard to be happy when you always look so miserable."

"I'm not miserable, Alice," I say immediately, because having Alice think that I'm unhappy with our life is not acceptable.

"I know you're not, Edward," she says as she shakes her head. "But sometimes it sure seems like you could be happier."

She puts her book down and stretches out from her cramped position.

"I'm going to bed. Night, Edward," she says as she kisses my check.

"Night," I echo.

I sit there for a long time, in only the glow of my work lamp…thinking.

Maybe Charlie has a point. Maybe what I need is the one thing I never thought I could have. Maybe I can have someone. Like Emmett.

I don't see how at first, because I'm not willing to compromise protecting Alice. But then I start to see the possibilities…

And I know what I have to do.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen for betaing.**

* * *

**Emmett's POV**

It seems like three days later instead of one that I finally make it back to Portland. On top of being rejected by Edward... again... property management reported issues with the renegotiation of the lease on one of our largest locations. Pretty much, everything has been crap, since I left home on Tuesday afternoon. I get my car from short term parking and make my way to the freeway. I have every intention of going home and seeing what flavors of ice cream I have in the freezer when I suddenly realize that I really don't want to be alone.

I take the next exit off the freeway and dial Rose.

She answers and I blurt out "I'm coming over" before hanging up. After a few awkward incidents where I walked in on her getting out of the shower or otherwise engaged, I try to give her a warning before I drop in.

I pull up to her townhouse and park on the curb, letting myself in with my key and walk straight to the living room. It's painted pink on pink with black trim and has two of those lounger type chairs, one hot pink and one white, as well as an oversized black suede couch. Her living room pretty much looks like the inside of a Victoria's Secret. Anyone who sees it gives her a hard time about it, but she loves it and doesn't give a damn what anyone else thinks. This is one of the many reasons that I love Rose.

She's sitting on the black couch, a bag of Oreos in her lap, with a sympathetic look on her face. There is no need to rehash last night; I filled her in over the phone already. Without a word, I walk to her and throw myself down next to her on the couch.

"Sorry, no ice cream," she says as she hands me an Oreo.

I take it from her as she holds up a small colorful bottle.

"Sprinkles?" she asks, already knowing the answer.

"Thanks," I mumble as I twist open my cookie and hold it out for her.

She covers the white cream in sprinkles, and I replace the other side. She does the same for her cookie.

We don't say anything until we're both two cookies in when she shakes her head and says, "You are so lucky you like working out. Do you know how many calories each one of these has?"

"I won't think about it until I run tomorrow."

"Good plan."

There is a long, but not awkward pause as we both have another Oreo.

"He's probably a jerk," she offers, and I know that she's just trying to be nice, throwing out reasons for me to get out of my funk.

"He's not." I know enough from our time together that he isn't. Now I almost wish that we'd never had that drink, and then I could easily paint a picture of Mr. Serious – Jerk and Cheater, in my head. But we did, and now all I know is Edward Cullen – Smart, Serious, and for whatever reason, Scared.

I look over at Rose, and she's giving me a weary look.

"You don't understand why I'm so upset." I try not to say it accusingly, because really, can I blame her?

"Not really."

I sigh. How do I explain to her how I feel when I'm around Edward? It all sounds so cheesy. Like I'm being tickled from the inside. Like the sun started shining through on a cloudy day. Like I just stepped into a perfectly heated shower after walking through the rain.

"With him it just feels so..."

"Right?" she finishes for me, and gives my hand a little squeeze.

"Yeah,"' I say with relief, and lean back to take a better look at her. "Have you ever felt like that?"

Just then there is a knock on the front door, and I hope for her sake that the answer is a no. I stifle a groan. I know who it is – Rose's on again, off again, always on again boyfriend. I hate the guy but he never seems to go away.

She stands and I try once again to understand what it is she sees in him.

"Rose, why do you keep taking him back?"

She sighs and shrugs. "He has his good qualities too, Emmett. And every time we break up, I swear we find each other again. It's like the Universe wants us to be together."

There is another, less patient knock on the front door and Rose hurries to answer it.

I hear him whine about how long it took her to answer the door, and she responds by telling him not to get his panties in a bunch. She may always take him back, but she doesn't put up with all of his bullshit.

They walk in the room together, and I try not to cringe at the sight of them holding hands.

"James," I say in greeting, and for Rose's sake I try to keep the venom out if my voice.

"Emmett." He narrows his eyes at me. He is probably still upset from the last time I saw him, when he realized that I have a key to Rose's place and he doesn't.

He can add that to a list of things in common that Rose and I enjoy that he doesn't. That long list includes drunken trips to Mexico, horror movies, and a general sense of humanity. Not to mention cock. We both love cock.

Rose goes into the kitchen, and I can hear her opening some beers. James sits down on the hot pink lounger chair that he's told Rose five hundred times that he hates, and he picks up the remote and switches the channel to the hockey game. I scoff, because I already know what he's going to say, and I already know that it will be ridiculous, especially coming from someone lounging in a hot pink chair.

He glances over at me and smirks. "Do you like hockey, Emmett? You know, the game with the ice and the small black circle..."

"I know what hockey is, James. I own a damn sporting goods chain."

"Just checking, you know." he says with an evil grin. James takes every opportunity that he can to de-masculinize me. In his ignorant, idiotic mind just because I'm gay it means that I can't like typical guy stuff. After the last twenty-four hours that I've had I really don't feel like dealing with his bullshit.

Rose comes in holding two beers, and I can tell that she already knows that I'm leaving.

"I'm gonna head home, Rose. I'm pretty tired."

"Okay..." she answers knowing full well that I'm leaving because James is here. "Drive safe, Emmett."

James rolls his eyes at our nicknames for each other.

"See you later, James," I say with a fake friendly smile. He grunts a goodbye.

I kiss Rose on the cheek and don't look back because I know she's going to slap him for making that comment but then go and snuggle with him on the couch. I prefer to not puke up my Oreos.

I get home and sift through the mail. Not wanting to deal with that either I quickly unpack and then pull out my laptop.

It hums in my lap as I sit there staring at the Google page. I type _Edward Cullen_ but can't bring myself to hit enter, curious, but not sure if I really I want to put myself through this right now. Instead, I click what I hope is a lesser form of torture and hit the "Images" button and then enter. One and a half pages of pictures come up as a result, many of them repeats.

There is a picture of him which looks like it's from when he was in college. He is surrounded by a group of about ten people in matching shirts, grinning and standing in front of a sign that says Habitat for Humanity. Great. Now not only do I know that Edward is handsome and smart, but he does charity work. Excellent. I tell myself that this is a bad idea and to stop it but it's Edward, and I can't seem to help myself.

The next one is Edward at what looks like an awards ceremony, holding a plaque and shaking hands with a really old guy. The best thing about the picture is that Edward is in a suit. Despite the fact that we both travel to Seattle for business, I have yet to see him in anything other than jeans. I had no reason to complain so far, but damn, I would love to see him in a suit. Award winning, charity doing, smart, handsome Edward in a suit.

I shake my head and force myself to move on to the next picture, which oddly enough is Edward surrounded by what looks like a high school cheerleading squad. The girls are all tight ponytails and ribbons and grinning like they just won Nationals or something. What I love most about the picture though is that Edward looks happy, proud. I wonder if this has something to do with the sister that he mentioned. I am suddenly overwhelmed with curiosity and I hold the mouse over the link to read the attached article.

A few seconds later though I click the window shut and close the lid of the computer. I desperately want to know more about Edward, but using Google feels like cheating. It's obvious that his privacy is important to him and I want _him_ to tell me about himself, not some article on the internet.

Frustrated, I strip and throw my clothes into the laundry basket. I turn on the water and wait for a minute but then give up on getting the temperature just right. Inside I let the water wash down over me and I think about Edward in the second picture... In a suit.

I groan out loud and move my hand down and slowly start stroking my cock. I tell myself no, but of course I don't listen and I picture Edward, in the dark suit, walking towards me while loosening my green silk tie from around his neck. He drops it to the floor then starts unbuttoning his shirt. He stops a few inches in front of me, and I can feel his warm breath on my face. I step forward, because all I want to be is closer, and I feel his arousal against my thigh. I groan out loud while imagining my lips meeting his throat. As his shirt drops to the floor he turns his head which allows me to place open mouthed kisses on his neck; but now his lips are farther away from mine. I slowly grind my hips against his and whisper his name putting both my arms around his waist. "Edward," I whisper his name again, wanting him to turn his head and look at me. He doesn't though, and even in my fantasy he can't seem to let go.

"It's okay," I whisper in his ear and he turns towards me so that my lips graze his cheek.

"Emmett," he whispers back so softly, so sweetly, that I can't help but pull him even closer to me. "Emmett," he repeats and hearing him say my name like that makes me want him even more. He leans back just a little and I want to whimper but then I realize that he's leaning back so that we're face to face and he leans his forehead against mine. I open my eyes and see him staring back at me with the look from the first time I met him, desire, plain and simple. "Emmett," he says once again and I'm there, crying out his name in return, holding myself against the wall so that I don't fall.

.~.~.~.

I take an Ambien as soon as I get out of the shower. My prescription expired long ago. It's from back when my mother was in chemotherapy and I had a hard time sleeping. But I don't know if I can take anymore dreams about Edward tonight, so I take one and hope it works.

It does. I wake up feeling refreshed enough to go for a run while the sun rises. I take my long route and listen to music while I sorted things out.

About three things I am almost positive.

First, Edward is a good guy. All the evidence points towards this so far. As much as I would like to write him off as a jerk, I really don't think he is.

Second, there is something about his life, past or present, which was preventing him from letting him see where things go with us.

And third, I'm going to have to let it go.

My father's main words of wisdom had always been that you don't get anywhere by being scared – you have to go for what you want.

Well, I did that, a few times, and Edward still held back.

Now is the time to listen to my mother, who always says that life is too short to dwell on things you can't change.

By the time I arrive at the office I manage a smile to Angela who I think believes it. I have lunch with Rose and don't mention Edward once. I focus on work, and don't even mind the extra time that dealing with this lease issue causes.

I spend the weekend helping Rose prepare for a fundraiser she's planning for the reconstruction of the Children's hospital Neonatal Unit. She always tries to make her work for the Children's hospital sound like it's not a big deal, that it's just a way to pass the time when she's not teaching professional make up classes. I know better though. As much as much as she would like everyone to think that she's a life-size heartless Barbie doll, she isn't.

By the time Tuesday evening comes around I've managed to stop completely obsessing over Edward… Although my mind still wanders to him from time to time.

It is happening more frequently though as I wait at the gate, wondering if he is going to show up for the same flight or if he chickened out and changed his plans in order to avoid me.

I stare at the aisle leading in from Security while trying to appear like I'm staring at the plasma TV showing CNN. I notice him right away, and damn it, he looks good. Dark jeans again, this time paired with a deep green long sleeved shirt. I look down at my lap where I have a copy of the quarterly financials. I try to focus on the words but they all look like numbers and all the numbers look like words.

I will not look into his eyes to see how they match perfectly with his shirt. I will not look to see if he sees me. I will not watch to see where he sits. I will...

"Hey."

Who the hell am I kidding, of course I will.

I look up, and my eyes meet his, and I try very hard to look unaffected.

"Hey."

There is an awkward pause, but luckily I'm strong enough to resist speaking up.

"Is it okay if I sit here?"

I shrug, as if it doesn't matter to me at all. He sits, and my heart jumps a little.

"So I owe you another apology."

He looks me in the eyes when he says it, and I already want to forgive him. He sighs, and runs his fingers through his hair.

"I'm not used to dating or flirting, or even going for drinks with guys. It's been a long time for me and as much as I wanted to go out with you, I didn't feel like I really could. So I was a coward and just avoided the situation, which wasn't nice, or fair to you. So... I'm sorry."

His eyes have yet to leave mine, and I don't see any trace of a lie in them. I've already forgiven him, and I bit my tongue to keep from blurting that out. The only thing I manage is a nod, and he continues.

"So what I would like to know is, will you have dinner with me tonight?"

I don't say anything at first, because I'm pretty sure that I heard him wrong. He stares at me and rubs his palms against his thighs. Finally, I figure that I'd better clarify.

"But I asked you to dinner. And you said no."

He cringes. "Right. So now I'm asking you out."

I can feel myself wanting to smile but I somehow make sure that I don't.

"What if I don't want to go out with you?"

He frowns, which is both sad and cute at the same time, but he also seems to make up his mind about something. He gives me a small crooked grin, and leans in.

"Come on. Are you really going to turn me down... On my birthday?"

No, I wouldn't turn him down, not on Memorial Day or St. Patrick's Day, or any other day for that matter, and especially not on his birthday.

"Is it really your birthday?" I ask while a small smile escapes me.

"Yes," he says seriously, as if he's taking an oath.

"Well then I can't let you take me out."

He frowns, and it's heartbreaking.

"If it's your birthday _I _should be the one taking _you _out," I say with a small chuckle, not wanting to torture him anymore.

I'm rewarded with the biggest smile I've seen on him yet, and he laughs with me.

"I'd like that," he answers after a moment, soft and low, like he really, truly means it.

"Okay, give me a second," I say as I quickly text Angela and asks her to make a reservation for two at the restaurant that I may or may not have already imagined taking Edward to.

Just then they call our group and we make our way to 8C and 8D. We spend the flight chatting about restaurants in Seattle and what our week at work has been like. Edward is quiet during the cab ride to the Edgewater, and has fallen completely silent by the time we get our room keys.

I can sense that he is getting nervous; as we reach the lobby elevators the scene is all too familiar.

"Um, maybe we should take the stairs."

He looks at me with a puzzled expression and asks "Why?"

I scowl at him. Does he really not know?

"I don't have good luck with you in elevators."

After a moment he laughs that low sweet laugh of his and the doors open and he steps in and I reluctantly follow. He pushes the buttons for the seventh and eighth floors, the doors close and he turns to face me.

We stare at each other for a minute and I realize I'm holding my breath because this elevator ride is the only time I've had with Edward that I want to pass quickly.

I can see that he is still laughing to himself and I want to tell him that it's not funny, that his rejection hurt, and that I have good reason to be scared.

I want to tell him all of these things, but I can't.

Because Edward is kissing me.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen for betaing.**

* * *

**Emmett's POV**

He's kissing me.

The kiss is sudden; his lips are on mine before I know it, and they're soft and forceful. His hand is on the back of my neck, pulling me closer, and I don't fight it. After a few seconds he parts his lips and I feel the warmth of his breath in my mouth, followed by his soft, wet tongue. We stand there perfectly still except for our tongues and our lips, which are having a conversation all their own.

He kisses me with urgency, with need. He deepens it and I let him because God, I need it too. His fingers curl up into my hair and he _moans_ and it takes everything in me not to push him up against the elevator wall.

It's intense.

And I love it.

I don't want this moment to end but the elevator dings and the doors open and the spell is broken.

He pulls away and stares at me, and I want to say something to him, tell him how amazing that was, how I want to do it again – immediately – but I can't, because I'm just smiling too damn much. I'm smiling and his eyes are still wide, and it dawns on me that he's in shock, it's as if he can't believe what just happened.

The door closes again and he takes half a step back.

"Sorry," he mumbles, "that wasn't part of the plan."

I take a step closer and put my hand under his chin and lift his face to mine.

"Plan?" I murmur staring right into his eyes.

"Yeah," he breathes, and the doors to the elevator open again. "Oh, I missed my floor."

His eyes dart to the right, as if he wants to escape.

As if I would let that happen.

I lean over and pick his bags off the elevator floor and fling them over my shoulder with mine. I take two steps off the elevator, and I stare at him as he holds the doors open.

"My floor is one below, Emmett." He repeats, as if I don't know what I'm doing. Only I know exactly what I'm doing.

"Yeah but if I let you go to your room, I may never see you again. You're coming with me." I grin at him so that he knows that I'm joking, only I'm not. I take a few steps backwards, raising an eyebrow, asking what he's going to do.

The door pushes against his hand, wanting to close, and he seems to understand what I'm doing.

He smiles slowly and mutters "pushy bastard" with a low laugh, but steps off and walks towards me.

We grin at each other, and he's still shaking his head as I put down the bags so that I can open the door. We step inside and the moment that we bring our bags inside, he bites his lip and starts looking around like he doesn't know what to do with himself.

He glances around the room, as if as if he's never seen any of it before. I glance around too, taking in the cream walls, large windows, and deep blue curtains. I'm sure it looks just like the one he stayed in for the last two weeks. He mumbles something unintelligible and runs his fingers furiously through his hair.

"Edward. Relax." I say, and take a step towards him, hoping that it won't have the opposite effect and start to freak him out.

"Are you ready to go?" I ask, because maybe it's being alone in this room together that is the problem.

"Ummm…" He looks down at what he's wearing and seems to be wondering if he looks alright. As if that's something he needs to worry about.

"You look great." I whisper in his ear and lean back to see his reaction.

He gives me another one of his _really? _looks and I nod.

"Yeah. Let's go." He breathes, determined, like he just told his sky diving instructor that he's ready to make the jump.

We walk back towards the elevators, and once we're inside, I reach over and gently grab his hand. He looks at me wide eyed again, and I give his hand a small squeeze. I'm beginning to realize exactly how new to this he is, that he wasn't kidding when he said that dating is not something that he does.

I want to push him now, because if I hadn't pushed him these last few weeks I know we wouldn't be standing here right now. At the same time, I don't want to scare him.

There must be a right way of doing this. I realize that I'm going to have take things slow. Very slow.

I give his hand a small squeeze, and I offer a smile, asking if it's okay. His fingers tighten just a little, and he nods.

We walk wordlessly out to a cab pulled up to the hotel. We get in and the driver looks back at me, and then I realize that it's the driver from the day I stalked Edward. He looks at me, then at Edward, then back at me and laughs. I try my best not to turn bright red, and I ask him to drive us to Sam's Steakhouse. He chuckles again before putting the car in gear.

Edwards leans back in the seat and gives me a weird look. "Strange, huh?" he whispers, and he glances forward and then back quickly.

I nod and take the opportunity to change the subject. "I guess I probably should have asked if you're a vegetarian."

He shakes his head no.

"Great, because this place has the best steaks. I've been coming here for years."

We drive off towards the restaurant. There is some traffic and I notice that he keeps looking out the window, his eyes darting back and forth, trying to absorb every detail as it flashes past us. He sees me watching him, and he smiles shyly before leaning over me to point at the building on the corner that we've stopped at. He tells me about the architect who designed the building before pointing out a few more. I have no idea what he's saying but the sparkle in his eye when he talks about the buildings makes me want to drive around the city all night.

We arrive at the restaurant and hostess Renee immediately recognizes me. She's in her forties, flighty and weird, and loves sticking her nose into other people's business - especially mine. If I weren't gay I'm sure that she would try to have me married to her niece by now. She gives Edward a very excited hello and winks at me before seating us at the table with the best view. The sun is setting and the red and orange light is fading to pink. Our hands separate for the first time as we sit, and we aren't sitting for even a full minute before he jumps up and says that he'll be right back. I can _feel _his nervousness as he walks towards the restrooms.

I sigh, wishing I knew why he's so anxious.

I signal Renee back over to the table and make a special request. She smiles at me all goofy and starts in on a hundred questions about Edward, but I wave her away before he comes back and sees.

And then I wait. And I wait. I tap my foot nervously because Edward has been gone for a while, but I try to be patient. He's trying here, so I will too.

Finally, I see him walking towards me, and he gives me a small and pained look, as if he just spent the past ten minutes giving himself the world's worst pep talk. I give him a small smile and decide that it's best that we just move on. At least he didn't jump out the bathroom window.

I ask if he wants some wine and the waitress helps us decide on a Pinot Noir, and we both order filets. Neither of us really knows a lot about wines, so we start talking about our favorite beers instead.

This leads to stories involving beer and college, where I learn that Edward went to the University of Chicago, and besides earning good grades, he spent most of his time partying with friends. I even convince him to tell me about a few of his drunken college nights, including a night where he caught his best friend in bed with the head of the largest fraternity on campus. We laugh together as he describes the look on the frat boy's face when he realized he'd been discovered, and that he didn't have to do their own laundry for that entire year.

We're each finished a glass of wine and Edward seems much more relaxed. There is just the tiniest bit of light left in the sky, and we look out over the lights of the city and fall into much easier conversation.

He tells me a lot about his undergrad in Chicago. How sick and tired he got of the freezing weather, about how during his junior year he tried to be a vegetarian for two months but failed miserably and ended up eating a huge record breaking cheeseburger at a local diner at three in the morning. We exchange story after story about our college years, and I barely pay attention to my food because his face is so captivating, so animated.

We're two bottles of wine in when I realize that Edward is not exactly what I expected. He is smart, and obviously shy at times, but also _fun_. I've learned more about him over this dinner than I have over all of our time together combined.

The waitress takes our plates and Renee walks over with my special request – a gigantic piece of chocolate cake decorated with long sparkling candles. Edward sees the cake and his eyes triple in size. He sees the waiting staff of about ten people behind Renee and shakes his head vigorously.

"No…Emmett...no…you can't." At this point the entire restaurant is looking at us, and he is blushing bright red and looks as if he wants to hide under the table. "Please...tell them to go away…"

"Too late," I say with a grin, and wink at Renee. Birthdays are meant for celebrating, and considering how terrible _my _last birthday was I want to make his great.

The staff starts off in a long and very loud rendition of _Happy Birthday_ and Edward drops his face into his hands before looking up at me between his fingers and laughs.

I join in on the song, singing extra loud and extra goofy until the staff is done, and I finish with one last "Happy Birthday, Edward!" so that no one in the entire restaurant, and probably the entire block, doesn't know that it's Edward's birthday.

Edward mumbles a thank you and the staff leaves us alone. He is still bright red, and I am laughing so hard that I might fall out of my chair.

"It's not funny!" he scolds me with a smile.

"Actually, it's hilarious," I correct him.

"No…its…its…"

"It's _what_?" I counter.

"It's _cheesy,_" he says proudly as if he's won the argument.

"Well good, 'cause I'm just about the cheesiest guy you'll ever meet." I pick up the forks and hand him one.

He rolls his eyes but he smiles and that right there makes it worth it.

Together, we eat every last bite of the cake. Our waitress brings us the bill, and I pay it, leaving an extra big tip for the staff for doing such a great job. Renee winks at me as we pass by her, and she calls out "See you two soon!"

We walk to the curb and Edward stumbles a little and my arm instinctively goes out around his waist.

"Whoa there," I say as I steady him. So maybe he's a little drunk.

"Emmett," he says with a laugh. "It's my _birthday._"

"Yes it is…did you have a good time?" I ask as I lead him forward.

"Yes, but I don't want it to end…"

My heart clenches in my chest.

I don't want it to end either, but to hear him say it, out loud, lets me know that maybe I'm doing something right.

As we climb into a cab my mind races for ideas of what we can do. I can't get enough of relaxed, happy Edward. It's already pretty late and we both have to work tomorrow so going to a club doesn't seem like such a great idea. Then it dawns on me, and suddenly I can't wait to get him back to the hotel.

"I have an idea."

"Oh yeah?" His eyebrow quirks up in question, but I just shake my head.

"It's a surprise."

I instruct the driver to take us back to the hotel, and I spend the rest of the ride telling Edward that he will just have to wait and see what we're going to do.

When we arrive, I pay the driver and take Edward's hand. I lead him to the lobby and tell him to wait there for me for a minute. He eyes me warily but agrees.

I know just what I need, and it's not too long until I'm back from the bar, holding a bottle of champagne, two glasses, and a small box.

"Champagne…?" He asks, beginning to look nervous again. "Are we um, going, um…upstairs?" He refuses to look at me, his eyes darting everywhere but in my direction.

Upstairs. Not like the thought hadn't crossed my mind. Despite his kiss in the elevator, I doubt that Edward is ready to go…. Upstairs.

So as much as I want to be with Edward, I've already decided to wait. Wait until he makes the decision, until he says the words.

"Why, do you want to?" I ask with a chuckle, taking a step closer.

"Well, I don't know, I mean..." He looks extremely uncomfortable, and I feel bad.

"I'm kidding, Edward." I reassure him as I take his hand again and lead him through the hotel.

We walk through the lobby to the very back of the hotel, and down a short flight of stairs to the pool. It's late and it's deserted, just like I hoped. When we're by the Jacuzzi I stop and try to gauge his reaction.

"The hot tub?" He asks in disbelief.

"Yeah. Is that okay?"

"I don't have a suit."

"Neither do I. But unless you're going commando I think we'll be fine in our underwear. No one else is out here."

He swallows loudly but doesn't say anything.

"_Are_ you going commando?" I ask, half worried and half hoping.

"No."

"Well then I think we're fine."

He hesitates, like he doesn't know what to do next.

"We don't have to, Edward," I say softly, because I don't want to make him do anything that he doesn't want to.

"No! I mean, I want to." He says firmly, so I'm left confused.

Then it dawns on me that he's thinking about undressing in front of me, and that makes him uncomfortable.

I turn around to a nearby bench and put the champagne down, busying myself with getting the corkscrew out of my pocket and opening the bottle.

I hear him splash into the water, and I turn around without thinking, instinctively wanting to see Edward without his clothes.

Edward is almost naked, standing up to his thighs in the water, wearing only black boxer briefs.

His chest is tight, his stomach defined, his arms more muscular than I thought. He's biting his lip, and once again his nerves are completely unwarranted.

He looks good enough to eat.

The cork flies from the bottle with a loud _pop_ and the champagne explodes.

It leaks from the top of the bottle down my hands, and I'm pretty sure that my mouth is hanging open.

Edward laughs and shakes his head. "Are you okay?"

I try to pull myself together, to recover, and to talk my erection down all at the same time. "Yeah, I'm uh – fine."

I turn back around and fill the glasses on the bench and take my time pulling my clothes off. When I think I'm ready I turn around with a glass in each hand and watch Edward. This time, _his _mouth is hanging open.

I climb into the hot tub and hand him a glass. He takes it from me and clink them together.

"Happy Birthday, Edward. I hope you've enjoyed it."

He nods slowly. "I really have, Emmett, Thank you." Then he grins and takes a big gulp of the champagne.

I take a drink of my own when I realize that I've forgotten something. I jump out of the jacuzzi to get the box.

Edward leans forward to examine it. "Are those…chocolate covered strawberries?"

"Yeah, look good, don't they?"

Instead of agreeing he shakes his head.

"What?" I ask, because who _doesn't _like chocolate covered strawberries?

"You weren't kidding. Champagne and strawberries?" He laughs. "_Cheese-y."_

I join him in laughter as I climb back into the hot tub. "I really wasn't kidding. I'm a cheesy romantic. But you like it – admit it." I reach forward and playfully wave a strawberry in front of his face.

He rolls his eyes but leans in, and I am mesmerized as his lips wrap around the fruit. He takes a bite and pulls away, licking his lips.

His eyes are locked with mine as he whispers, "I like it."

I gulp back some air, which is hot and thick with the steam rising around us, and slowly, I smile.

"Another?" I ask, as I pull a strawberry out.

He nods, and leans forward again. He takes another bite and then closes his eyes as he leans back against the wall.

I can't help it.

I throw myself at him, straddling him, wrapping my arms around his waist, finding his lips with mine. His eyes fly open in surprise but they close again as he leans his head to the side, deepening the kiss and reaching up to run his hands through my hair.

His tongue, his chest against mine, his hands on me, it all feels better than amazing. This time I'm the one who moans as I pull him closer. He grinds his hips up into me and our hard cocks rub against each other underneath the wet layers of cotton. He's grinding against me and I'm grinding against him and I can't get enough.

The air seems even steamier, thicker, or the champagne is getting to me. Maybe that's the haze that I'm seeing him through. I pull away for a second, needing to catch my breath, but he doesn't let me.

He pushes me back so that we're on the other side of the hot tub, champagne glasses swirling around in the water with us. His lips are on my throat, then behind my ear.

"Emmett…" he moans into my ear, and I jerk my hips up to him.

I can barely believe that this is happening. Where is the scared, uncomfortable, Edward that I'm used to? The one who could barely have a drink with me?

He distracts me by running his hands up and down my stomach, and kissing me along my jaw. His lips end up back at my ear, and my heart almost stops as he whispers again.

"Do you want to go upstairs?"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen for betaing.**

* * *

**Edward's POV**

A loud, obnoxious sound wakes me. It echoes in my ears and makes me aware of a dull ache in my temples. I pull the pillow over my face, but I can still hear it, and it's driving me nuts. I reach out blindly and feel a phone, then lift it to my ear.

"Good morning, Mr. McCarty. This is your wake up call," someone says in a sweet, fake voice.

"Huh?" Is the only response I can manage.

"Your wake up call sir, would you like me to call back in ten minutes?"

"What?" I pull the pillow off my face, barely coherent. Damn it, my head is killing me.

"Mr. McCarty you requested a wake up call. Would you like me to call back?" The voice is still sweet, but I can tell that she's irritated.

I'm getting kind of irritated too, because I swear that she just called me – oh shit.

"No, no thank you," I mumble before slamming the phone down.

Oh shit.

I sit up suddenly, which causes my head to pound a little harder. Ignoring the pain I blink wildly as I look around the room.

I'm alone…I think.

"Emmett?" I call out, wanting to make sure.

The sun is pouring in from the crack between the curtains, and I can see that the room is empty.

I sigh and sink back into bed, rolling over face down. I feel my very hard morning wood against my stomach, and that's when it hits me.

I'm not wearing any underwear.

Did I…? Did we….?

I roll back over and force my eyes open again, trying to remember what happened the night before.

I went to the airport, intending to apologize and ask Emmett out, and with the help of two shots of vodka at the airport bar, I was successful. Maybe a little too successful…because somehow I also had the courage to _kiss _him. In the elevator, like I just go around kissing people all the time. He had glared at me for laughing at him at it was so adorable that I couldn't resist. Before I knew it my lips were on his, and once I started it felt like I never wanted to stop. I smile at the memory, because while I'm borderline embarrassed at my forwardness, it was a very _very_ good kiss.

Next he had taken me to his room, and that's when I began to realize that I was really about to do this – go on a date with Emmett. He had soothed me though, and even took my hand in the elevator, a gesture less aggressive, but somehow more intimate than our kiss.

I don't know how, or why, but I needed that, something grounding me, telling me that it was okay. The minute that he let go though, it came at me full force. Like a coward, I escaped to the bathroom and spent what must have been at least ten minutes staring in the mirror, reminding myself that I was being ridiculous. People my age go on dates all the time. People my age have boyfriends, husbands, babies even. I should be able to handle one date.

It almost made me wish that I had accepted Mrs. Stanley insistent offers to set me up with a "nice boy – just perfect for me". That way I could have at least gotten practice with someone that I didn't already know I liked – a lot.

Because I did, I liked Emmett more than I probably should. It was almost an ache in my gut, something low and constant, telling me that there was really something there. I just needed to be brave enough to see it through.

Emmett made it surprisingly easier than I thought. Maybe it was him, or the wine, or both, but I found myself letting loose a bit, exchanging stories of my undergraduate years, a time when my life was very different from my life now. And it felt good. I remembered stories that I had completely forgotten about, drunken nights and stupid pranks and everything that comes with years of having no one but yourself to be concerned with.

Emmett even had the restaurant staff bring out cake and sing to me. It was loud and embarrassing, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy it. Seeing that stupid grin on Emmett's face made it hard to be to care about being embarrassed.

By the time we left the restaurant, I felt good – maybe a little too good. I couldn't remember the last time that I had so many drinks but since everything was going so well I didn't see the harm. Emmett took me back to the hotel and for a moment I was worried, thinking that he wanted to go upstairs. He surprised me though, bringing me to the hotel hot tub…Oh God, Emmett was practically naked. How the fuck did I forget about that for even a second? His body was perfect, muscular and hard, with wide, strong shoulders and abs that belonged in a Calvin Klein campaign.

I moaned, rolling over again. He had kissed me. Really kissed me, and he tasted like man and sugar and champagne all at the same time. It was intoxicating. The feel of his strong arms around me, his body pressed to mine, the second he pulled away, I practically attacked him. I couldn't seem to focus on anything anymore – anything that wasn't Emmett. I was running hot, the steam around us fogging up my vision and my mind. Suddenly, I had the courage that I lacked earlier. I felt like I could do anything, because it was me and it was Emmett and for some reason he had this way of making me do things I only ever thought I would fantasize about.

I roll over on my back and try to focus – this is where things got a little fuzzy for me.

I remember climbing out of the tub, wrapping towels around our waists and running to the elevator. I remember running down the hallway, giggling like a stupid teenager completely consumed with thoughts of hot, wet Emmett up against me. We had fallen back on the bed, kissing wildly, rolling around, moaning, grinding, and touching just about everywhere.

I remember kissing until my lips were sore, and Emmett looking down at me, saying that he would be right back. One soft kiss on my neck and then…and then there was nothing. I must have fallen asleep.

This realization both comforts and upsets me – but it's too early for me to analyze why. I sit up slowly, looking around the room and see that my suitcase is in the closet, as well as my suit, which is hanging. On the nightstand there is a bottle of water, two Advil, and a note.

_It may have been your birthday, but you definitely made my wish come true._

_Emmett_

Despite the dull ache of my head, I smile like an idiot because I can almost hear Emmett saying the words out loud, as if he is standing right next to me. From anyone else they would sound lame or insincere, but from Emmett, even on a note, they are perfect.

At the bottom of the paper is a phone number.

I read the note three more times before setting it down to take the Advil and a long drink of water. The fact that he has done all this for me – the wake up call, water, even hanging up my suit so that it didn't wrinkle – it amazes me. Other than when Alice takes her turn cooking dinner, I can't remember the last time that someone took care of me like this. Not even Garrett. It may have been my mother, sometime when I was sick in high school, and she made me soup from scratch.

I look at the time and realize that I've got to get going. I step into the bathroom and splash water on my face, and see that my underwear is hanging out to dry on the shower rod. I try not to think about how he got them off of me, too embarrassed at the possibilities.

After my shower I feel better, refreshed and much less hung over. I dress then pick up my phone from the nightstand to call Alice.

"Where have you been, Edward?" she says right away, before even saying hello. "I called you three times last night to see how your birthday was!"

"Sorry, Ali. I didn't hear it ring."

"What were you so busy doing, huh?" She asks in a suggestive, teasing tone.

I hesitate, not sure what I should tell her.

"Let me guess – you worked all night, followed by a few episodes of Law and Order when you fell asleep in front of the TV.'

"Actually…" Even as I speak, I'm still not sure of what I'm going to say, but Alice saves me.

"Oh my God!" she shrieks. My heart pounds faster for a second, then I realize that it's nothing serious.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Bella stole my clothes! And she put out a… Dress!"

I roll my eyes. Even after all these years Bella has never given up on the idea of Alice being a girly-girl with her.

"It wouldn't kill you to wear a dress, Alice."

"It might. I could catch a cold - a bad one."

"Your cheerleading uniform is a dress – you don't have a problem wearing that," I point out.

"That's different, Edward. Very different."

"I'm sure if you ask nicely she'll give you your clothes –"

"Isabella Marie Swan!" She yells so loudly that I pull the phone away from my ear. "Gotta go, Edward. See you tonight."

"Okay bye, Ali - " I think that she may have hung up before I finish.

I sigh, and look at the time. I've got a few minutes to check my email before I head to the offices of Volturi Law for the day.

At some point it occurs to me that I'm taking the later flight home, and that Emmett might be there. Part of me is hoping he is, so that I can apologize for passing out, and thank him for taking care of me. The other part hopes that he isn't so that I have more time to think about what to do.

My meetings go relatively well, and I'm sure that I have Emmett to thank for that. I really needed that Advil to put up with the lawyers who make up the law firm. Aro, the man who started the firm, is a terrifying man, but at the end of the day he gives me a silent nod of approval and that seems to be the best I can expect from him. Two of the other partners are Aro's niece Jane and nephew Marcus. They are a bit more vocal with their opinions and while they grumble about a few of the changes that I made to ensure compliance with city building code, they actually manage a few compliments.

I leave the firm pretty good about things with work, and more excited than nervous with the thought of possibly seeing Emmett.

At the airport, I notice him right away, standing in the corner of the gate area, pacing back and forth while talking on his cell phone.

I almost drop my bags, as soon as I lay eyes on him, because he's wearing a suit. It's black and simple, but seems to fit him in all the right places. His jacket is undone and his shirt is white. I stare as he yanks at his black and silver tie, loosening it so that he can undo the top button.

I'm positive that no one on has ever looked that good in a suit before. He turns towards the window, his back to me, and runs a hand over his short dark hair. He rubs his forehead in a sign that clearly says he is upset and my heart sinks.

He turns a little, leaning against a cement pillar, and I can see that he's frowning. This is the first time that I've seen Emmett serious. I'm still standing there, uncertain of what to do. Before I can make up my mind, he looks up and his eyes lock with mine. His frown is immediately replaced by a big grin. It's almost like he's forgotten what he was doing.

I return the smile, the ache in my stomach turning into a fluttering. By the time I reach him, he's hung up the phone and has a knowing smirk on his face.

"So how do you feel, Party Boy?"

I laugh, amazed that his mood has shifted so quickly. "Good actually," I say as I take a step closer. "But I really need to apologize…"

He frowns, a crease forming between his brows. "For what?"

"For…falling asleep…"

"You mean passing out?" His smirk returns and I resist giving him a playful push.

"Passing out…whatever you want to call it…"I roll my eyes. "I just want you to know that it's not because I didn't…I mean...I really liked all the…"

"Making out?" He finishes for me.

"Yeah," I say with a sigh of relief. "That."

He takes a step closer to me and leans in, his lips by my ear. "Me too," he whispers and leans back to see my reaction. I'm standing there with yet another idiotic smile on my face when I remember that I have more to say.

"Oh, and thank you, for everything this morning. The wake up call, the water...I mean it was really nice of you to do all that, you didn't have to, especially after I passed out on you and all –"

"Hey," He says, interrupting my rambling. "You're welcome. I wanted to…although…"

"What?"

"I was kind of hoping that I would see you downstairs this morning for breakfast."

"Oh yeah…I ended up taking care of some things for work this morning. Breakfast would have been nice though…"

"Well there's always next week." It's not a question, but he says it like it is, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Definitely," I say firmly. I remember what he was doing when I first saw him today, and even though it may not be my business, I want to know that everything is okay. "Is everything okay? You looked upset earlier…"

He frowns again, but just for a second. "Oh yeah…I mean I hope so. It's just work stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" I ask, because I really do want to know.

"We're trying to negotiate a lease for one of our largest locations, possibly purchase the property. But the owner is giving us trouble…"

I frown, because this type of thing is something that I know nothing about. I design buildings, but have nothing to do with the land they're on. "Can you just move to a new location?"

He cringes, and shakes his head, almost as if he is a little embarrassed. "We will if we need to, but…I don't know, that store is kind of important to me."

"Oh," I say, because now I can see that this is something personal. "Do you mind if I ask why?"

He answers me slowly, with a wistful look in his eyes. "Well, my father always said that having his own company was his dream…but when I was nine he brought me that store, his second one, and told me that the store was his dream for me. Something bigger and better than even he had. I don't know, it just meant a lot to me."

My heart clenches as I see his love for his father very clearly on his face. It makes me think of my own, and I hate that neither of us have that relationship anymore that obviously meant a lot to the both of us.

Just then they announce the boarding of our flight, and his mood shifts from serious back to his normal, happy self. He keeps talking about his father though. The whole way back to Portland he tells me story after story about his father, camping trips that they used to take, games that they went to. This father sounds like the type of man who stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting, despite the fact that his parents got divorced. I freeze when he tells me about his father's heart attack, and while he acts as if its ancient history, I can see the pain in his eyes.

Before I know it we're walking towards short-term parking.

"Oh, that's me," I say as I point to my silver Volvo.

Emmett looks at me with raised brows. "Really?"

"Yes…oh come on. It's a safe car," I whine, sick and tired of being made fun of about it.

He just laughs, and follows me up to the driver's side. I turn around to face him and suddenly realize that this is goodbye – for now.

"Well…" I start, not sure how to tell him that I can't wait to see him again without sounding desperate.

Instead, he blurts out, "I can't wait to see you again." He says it without embarrassment or pride, something that I'm obviously not capable of.

"Me too," I say softly, as he takes a step closer to me, he's now right in front of me and my back to pressed up against the car.

"Good," he replies, and his eyes roam over my face. "You never did tell me about your plan, Edward."

I freeze, because I had been sure that he hadn't picked up on that. "Um…"

"Oh come on, you can tell me. How about now? Dinner?"

I sigh, because I really don't want to leave him, but Alice will be waiting for me to pick her and Bella up from the library. Charlie is working today.

"I can't tonight," I say, the disappointment clear on his face. "I'll tell you next week," I say firmly. "I promise."

That seems to cheer him up a bit, and he starts to turn away before when he stops, staring into my eyes.

"Just promise me something okay?" he says seriously, even more so than when he was on the phone earlier.

"What?" I ask, and I'm instantly nervous.

"You're not married are you?" he says it slowly, as if he is afraid to say it out loud, like it might make it true.

I sigh in relief. "Definitely not married."

He seems to relax a bit. "No boyfriend...girlfriend…friends with benefits…" he lists, as if he just needs to make sure.

"Nothing like that, Emmett. I told you, I don't date…or anything that may go with that."

He's smiling now, reassured. "You're not like an international spy or something are you?" he says with a laugh. "Because I'm proud to be an American you know."

This time I playfully push his shoulder, and he plays along, pretending that it actually hurt.

"I'm not a spy, Emmett."

He laughs and leans in to kiss my cheek. It's soft and sweet, and makes me smile. "Okay, Edward, next week it is."

He takes a few steps backwards, then turns and starts walking towards the stairs. I open the car door and am about to climb in when he calls my name.

"Oh, Edward?"

I look up to see him facing me again, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"That's a really cute freckle you have on your ass."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen for betaing.**

* * *

******Emmett's POV**

"What the hell are you so happy about?"

Rose's voice is unexpected, and it breaks me out of my Edward bubble. His face when I mentioned his freckle was priceless. From confusion to shock to embarrassed understanding. It was adorable. It was kind mean of me, but so worth it. That face put a smile on my own all the way home.

I throw my bags on the floor by the front door and saunter over to Rose in the kitchen, picking her up off the floor and squeezing tight.

"Put me down you big idiot!" She yells loudly, but her words don't mean anything. She loves it; her laughter gives her away.

I swing her around a few times for good measure before finally putting her down, the grin still on my face.

"What the hell, Em? You didn't answer your phone at all last night. I thought you'd come home all mopey about Mr. Secretive."

Her perfectly manicured hands are on her hips. She means business.

I actually feel kind of bad for not returning her calls. Edward had me preoccupied for most of the night though, and I was working all day.

"I was busy." I shrug teasingly, like it's no big deal, even though all I want to do is scream, _we made out!_ at the top of my lungs.

"Emmett!" She pouts, stomping her foot like a little girl.

I decide to mess with her for a bit, walking to the fridge to get some water. I lean against the granite counter taking big, exaggerated gulps, trying not to laugh at Rose's exasperated sigh when I see something out of the corner of my eye.

"Rose, what is that?" I ask as I point, even though it's obvious what it is.

A fish tank, probably about five gallons, is sitting on the counter between the kitchen and the living room.

"It's a fucking fish tank Emmett, what the hell else would it be?" She rolls her eyes as if I'm an idiot and tosses her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

"I know it's a fish tank Rose. Since when do I have fish?" I say as I walk over to it.

The bottom of the tank is covered in hot pink stones. Inside are two fish, one bright red with a long tail and the other yellow with a short tail and orange stripes. The fish are swimming in and out of a white castle, which towers look like they were painted hot pink with silver sparkles.

Rose joins me in front of the tank, leaning on her elbows and staring in.

"Since you ignored me, forcing me to conclude that you were going to come home all heartbroken and depressed. You're always talking about getting a dog but I know you don't have time for one. So…"

I look over, smirking at her thoughtfulness. To the rest of the world, she is a bitch, but I know better. I'm not the only one made of maraschino cherries and whipped cream. Rose can be pretty sweet herself.

"So I got you some stupid fish. It's not a big deal," she says as she stands and puts her hands back on her hips.

I chuckle softly, not wanting to give her too hard of a time. "They're pretty awesome. Thanks, Rosie."

She mumbles a "Yeah, whatever," and then adds, "Their names are Cherry and Sunny, by the way."

"You named them?" I frown, disappointed. I wanted to name them; I've never had a pet before.

"The three of us sort of bonded today," she says with a shrug. "Cherry is much smarter than Sunny. He keeps getting caught in the filter current."

I look at her curiously. "Exactly how long have you been here today?"

She sighs, and waves her hand around in the air. "Sunrise…noon…I don't know."

I turn away from the fish to give her a _what the hell is going on_ look.

She sighs, leaning back up against the counter, and stares at the fish to avoid my gaze. "James and I had a fight. I told him to kiss my ass and have been hiding out here ever since."

"Rosie..." I don't need to finish; she already knows what I'm going to say.

"I know."

The annoying beep of the oven timer goes off, and she smiles sheepishly. "I made you dinner."

I raise my eyebrows in surprise because Rose doesn't cook - at all. I'm actually a little scared.

She puts on oven mitts and pulls out a tray of brownies.

I love this girl.

"You made me brownies?" I ask, excited, but confused by the look on her face. She looks perplexed.

"Its a cake," she says as she glares down into the pan.

"Oh." Well I love her for trying. "Looks delicious."

"Shut up," she says, and she dumps the tray on the stove in a huff.

"How about I cook you dinner?" I gently move her around the kitchen counter and set her on a barstool. "And you can tell me what happened with James."

I assess what I have in the fridge and quickly decide on a stir-fry. I may not be the next Food Network star, but my mother made sure that I knew the basics.

I pull out some chicken and vegetables while Rose sighs repeatedly. "There's really nothing to talk about. It's just him being a controlling jerk again."

"There's an easy solution to that you know…" I trail off, and I am met by silence. I look up to see Rose glaring at me. Maybe I've told her this one too many times.

"He's not all that bad you know. He's smart, he's going to be an incredible director one day, he's charming…sometimes…and he's great in bed."

The last part is definitely not something that I ever needed to hear. Except that now I have I can't ignore it.

"Are you saying that you're staying with him for the sex?"

She rolls her eyes. "That's not what I said, Emmett. But the sex definitely doesn't hurt - at all."

Somewhere deep inside the nagging thought I've had since Peter and I broke up returns. It's a reminder that sex is really important to a lot of people. Important enough to make someone stick around or not. Important to Rose, and important to Peter. He had never given me any reason to make me think he wasn't happy with our sex life, but apparently what I had to offer him wasn't enough. He went to find more elsewhere. Many other elsewhere's.

Part of me wants to tell her; Rose is my best friend after all. However somehow saying it out loud makes me feel even less like a man than I already feel when I allow myself to dwell on the thought. I just can't do it.

"Enough about James. Tell me about your night."

I give up on getting her to talk and allow the switch in topic, not only for her, but as a distraction for myself as well.

Rose loves hearing about our date – Edward's birthday cake, the champagne...She especially loves the details that I share about the hot tub. By the time I get to our goodbye though, she's frowning.

"What? What's wrong?" I ask uneasily. I really don't want anything to ruin how I left things with Edward.

She shifts uncomfortably in her seat. "Emmett, it's rarely a good thing when people keep secrets. And it sounds like he's been keeping something pretty big from you."

"I'm sure has his reasons." I wave off her concern and return to my dinner.

She sighs, and finishes what's left on her plate. "I just don't want you to get hurt you know?"

"He's going to tell me. Next week. I can be patient," I say as I stand up and take my plate to the sink. She does the same, and then puts her arms around my waist in a brief hug.

"I hope he tells you. And I hope you aren't disappointed."

I squeeze her back quickly and then let go. I really don't want to talk about Edward with Rose anymore, so we switch topics again and dig into her cake. It's inedible, so we settle on chocolate fudge ice cream instead.

Of course James calls her and she decides to finally answer, agreeing to meet him. This leaves me alone for the rest of the night. I throw myself into catching up on work, trying not to think about Rose's concerns about Edward, which the more I allow myself to think about, are becoming my own concerns.

I remind myself that I need to be patient; that I need to hear him out.

If anyone is worth it, Edward is.

.~.~.~.

It's hard to be patient.

It's only been forty-eight hours since I last saw Edward and I'm dying to see him again. I'm also dying to get answers to all of my questions. My other questions, the ones that I didn't ask him. He may not be married, or have a boyfriend, but an endless stream of terrible possibilities has begun to run through my mind as to what he needs to tell me. With every hour they get worse. Maybe he has a criminal record. Or he is filming a reality show in which I'm the poor loser getting punked. Maybe he isn't really a man. Actually, I know that isn't true. I could see…enough… the other night to know that he is definitely a man. A very attractive man. Maybe he's both a man and a woman.

I want to bang my head against my desk to knock the ridiculous stupidity out. I need a new distraction. Work isn't cutting it anymore. Rose and James made up, so she's busy with him tonight. My only interruption has been when my mother called and asked me to come over tomorrow to help her paint her office.

Just as I decide to see what mindless crap is on TV my phone rings again. I don't feel like talking to anyone right now, but at least it's a distraction. I answer with a hello, but the other line is silent.

"Hello?" I repeat. I can hear someone breathing on the line.

"Hi…Emmett?" Just from the voice I already know who it is, and I can't help but smile. He does that to me even over the phone. "It's Edward."

"Hey, Edward I'm glad that you called. I didn't expect that."

He laughs, sounding a little uneasy, and says, "I didn't expect to call."

I walk to the living room, lying back on the couch and getting comfortable. I feel more at ease and nervous at the same time. "Then why did you?"

He pauses for a few moments, and finally answers. "I missed you."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Me too." There is nothing but quiet for a moment and then I ask, "What are you up to tonight?"

"Nothing much. I was watching a movie but wasn't into it."

"What movie?" I wonder what kind of movies Edward likes. I imagine that it's something like the Bourne movies, James Bond, that kind of thing.

He pauses, as if unsure that he wants to answer the simple question. "Legally Blonde."

I laugh, because that is definitely not the answer that I expected from him.

"Why are you watching that in the first place? I mean, believe me, I've seen it many times, it's one of my best friend's favorite movies, but I didn't think you were the type for all that…pink."

He laughs uncomfortably. "Um, my sister has some friends over. They picked it."

I perk up at the mention of his sister. That is something I definitely want to know more about. "Do you live with your sister?"

"Yeah, she's just fifteen." He is still hesitant, and its confusing the hell out of me. "Maybe we should talk about this later…"

I feel like I'm losing him, it's like the elevator all over again only this time all he has to do is push a button to cut me off. Then it hits me. His sister. She has something to do with what he has to tell me.

I have to get him to open up, because I'm not sure that I can wait another week and I'm kind of scared of all the terrible possibilities that my mind can make up from now until then.

"Now is as good a time as any, Edward. I'll listen to whatever you have to say."

_Please._

He takes a few deep breaths, and my heart begins to race. Finally, he begins.

"Our parents died when I was twenty-one. Alice was nine."

I breathe in sharply, caught off guard.

"Edward…I'm so…" My words sound trite, and I hate it.

"It's okay. I mean, we're okay."

He says this with a kind of strength and determination. As if it's something he's been repeating to himself for years.

"So I've been taking care of her for the last seven years. My mother was adopted, but it was an awful home and she left when she was eighteen; and my father's parents passed away when I was ten. Neither had any siblings…it's just been the two of us."

He seems to finally have the courage he needs, because he doesn't stop.

"She's a good kid. I mean, really, I'm not just saying that. Alice is smart, and she's a good person; she cares about people. She does community service, and not because she has to. She's a cheerleader, a flyer, the one on top that gets flung in the air. She's brave. She doesn't act like someone who got dealt a bad hand. She's happy with who she is. How many teenage girls can you say that about, right? She deserves the best. I want to give her the best, you know?"

He finally stops for a breath, and I'm stunned. I feel like an idiot, because I'm not sure what to say. The amount of love he has for his sister, the pride in his voice when he talks about her, the things I can only imagine he has had to deal with since his parents died…nothing I can say seems right.

"Emmett?"

"Yes, I mean, I'm here."

He takes a few deep breaths and continues. "I need you to understand that Alice is a priority. I want her to always feel she can always count on me, you know? So I've tried to do everything that I can to support her. Homework, class trips, cheerleading, whatever it is, I'm there. So that's why I told you I don't date. I really don't."

Oh. Things begin to click into place and make sense. Only… it kind of doesn't. I don't understand why Edward can't have both, a personal life and a family life, especially now, when Alice is fifteen. I think back to when I was fifteen. My parents had been divorced for years, and while my father never really dated, my mother did. I didn't like all the guys, but I understood that she needed to have a life too.

"At all? I mean in seven years…nothing?"

"I did once, and it ended badly."

"Badly?" Is all I manage to get out.

"Yeah…Garrett, three years ago. We were together for about nine months. He told me he was okay with it all. That he wanted to be a part of our lives and he didn't mind that Alice is a priority in my life, that we wouldn't have much alone time…but I guess he did, because he ended it. It was terrible, not only for me, but for Alice."

I try to process his words quickly and I think I'm beginning to understand him a bit more. This is more than Edward being overly cautious. This is about him, and Alice, getting hurt. I'm still not sure that I understand, or completely agree, but I have to at least try.

"So where does that leave us?" I kind of feel like an ass for making this be about me, but I'm getting a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that tells me he's about to tell me some bad news. Like we can't see each other anymore.

Edward takes a few deep breathes, and I hold mine. "I still want to see you, Emmett; I just don't want to introduce you to Alice yet."

I digest that for a few seconds, grateful that he isn't completely blowing me off, but unsure of how this will play out.

"So you and I will…" I trail off, hoping that he will tell me what he wants.

"We can date in Seattle; we'll see each other every week, and…we'll see how it goes."

I stand up from the couch and begin to pace back and forth. I'm not sure how I feel about this. It seems silly that Edward and I live in the same city, about half an hour away actually, and we only see each other in Seattle. It makes it sound like we have something to hide.

"Will you tell Alice about us?"

"If I tell her she'll want to meet you. I will later…when…"

I don't make him finish. He'll tell her when he's ready. When he thinks I'm ready. I can't help but feel like I'm being tested, and I guess when it comes down to it, I am. I just have to be patient, which is exactly what I've been telling myself these past few days anyway. I need to be patient because from everything that I know, from what my instincts tell me, Edward is worth is.

"Okay." I agree. This is what Edward needs.

"Really?" He sounds like he doesn't believe it, like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

"Yeah. I can do that. I just…well I hope that you know that I don't want to hurt you or Alice, Edward, I really don't."

"I know…I just need some reassurance, you know?"

I hear a loud squeal, which now I know must be a teenage girl.

"Was that Alice?"

"Um, no. Jessica Stanley. I've never been able to figure out why Alice is friends with her."

I hear another squeal, closer this time, followed by a girl's voice.

"Edward! There's a mouse in the living room! Alice is chasing it around…what if it bites her? Come quick!"

Edward groans. "That's Bella. I have to go, Emmett. I'll see you on Tuesday, okay?"

The image of Edward chasing a mouse around his living room, surrounded by group of shrieking teenage girls flashes in my mind, and I can't help but chuckle.

"Alright. Tuesday, I can't wait."

"Me either. Bye, Emmett."

I hang up the phone and throw myself back down on the couch. My mind is whirling back and forth between thinking that Edward is going a bit overboard to wanting to give him what he needs.

What have I just gotten myself into?

.~.~.~.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on or not?"

I look over at my mother questioningly. She is standing there with her hands on her hips; a lot like Rose was the other night. What is it with the women in my life and needing to know everything?

She steps over a can of paint and walks over to stand in front of me, poking a finger into my chest.

"You keep going back and forth between grinning like a fool to looking like you're going to throw up. What's going on, Emmett?"

Part of me just wants to mumble a dismissive _nothing_ like I used to when I was in high school, but the other part of me is relieved that she noticed. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm kind of a mamma's boy; not after I almost lost her.

"I'm seeing someone."

Her blue eyes, a mirror image of my own, twinkle, and she smiles. "I thought that might be it." She laughs, motioning with her hand. "Go on, tell me all about him."

We work side to side, covering her office walls in light grey, and I tell her almost everything. I leave out the part about the hot tub, and Edward's freckle, because as close as we are she's still my mother. I talk and she listens, we end up sitting facing each other on the floor in the middle of the grey room, covered in paint splatters.

"Isn't it odd though? Isn't he being…_too_ careful?" I'm finally to the point where I've wanted to be all afternoon. I need to know if it's just me or if this isn't as unusual as I think it is.

"Well, yes and no," she finally answers.

"That doesn't help, Mom."

"It doesn't, does it?" She thinks for a minute, strumming her fingers on he floor. "Emmett, who was the first man that I dated after your father and I divorced?"

I think back trying to remember. There were a few guys while I was in high school, most of them seemed boring to me. "That Andrew guy, right? The accountant?" Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was him. He rarely smiled and never wore jeans, ever.

"No. It was Stephen, a lawyer from Los Angeles."

I think back again, but I swear I never met a lawyer.

"I don't remember him."

"That's because you never met him."

I freeze, and I think I know where she's going with this.

"You mean…"

She nods, smiling weakly. "I didn't want to introduce you to just anyone, Emmett. I didn't want to have a revolving door of men in and out of your life. Not that there were _that_ many. But what if they were crazy? Or worse…" She shakes her head sadly. "There are all sorts of strange people out there, Emmett. On top of the hurt that comes out of a failed relationship, for both him and Alice. All I'm saying is that I can see where Edward is coming from."

She gets up, picking up the brushes and leaves the room. I hear her rinsing them out in the bathroom, but I can't seem to move to help her. I lie back, staring at the still white ceiling, and think.

Maybe it's not so strange. Maybe Edward has a good point. I haven't doubted his intentions for a second, but now I finally feel like I'm beginning to understand.

Eventually my mother's face appears above me, her grey hair falling around her.

"So are you going to let something like a little patience get in your way?"

I shake my head slowly as I sit up. "No," I say firmly. "Edward is worth it."

"Good," she says as she puts the lid on the leftover paint.

I look up and smile, relieved that I decided to talk to her about Edward. What would I do without her?

She stands and moves to the doorway, looking back over her shoulder at me.

"Anyway, think of all that quality alone time you two will get in Seattle," she says with a wink.

My mind wanders, and I fall back down to the floor, my face bright red.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen for betaing.**

* * *

******Emmett's POV**

This time, it's him that's looking for me. He's sitting at the end of the row near the front of the gate, his eyes darting back and forth, checking all the faces as they pass him. He looks tired, unsure. My heart sinks because I have a feeling it's because of me. I even feel a bit guilty. After talking to my mother I've been nothing but excited to see him again, but for Edward, there's been some uncertainty, and it shows.

He sees me and his face lights up a little; a small, tentative smile on his face. He stands and I walk over to him.

"Hey," he says weakly, as if he's already been defeated.

"Hey yourself," I say, taking another step closer. "You look like you could use a hug."

"I -"

I don't let him finish; I drop my bags to the ground and wrap my arms around him, pulling him close to me. There's no space between us at all and I can't help but feel like it's a perfect fit.

He sighs, relaxing into me, his cheek resting on my shoulder. I hold him firmly against me, feeling his chest rise and fall against mine. He smells wonderful, like the first day I met him, fresh and manly at the same time. It makes my heart flutter and I wonder if he can feel it. Part of me recognizes that I shouldn't really feel this way – not yet. But I can't help it. It's like my heart knows something that my brain doesn't, and my mother always told me to follow my heart.

I just hope that Edward can do the same.

I'm not sure how long we stand there, and eventually I pull away. I study Edward's face, which is much more relaxed, happy.

His green eyes look up at me softly. "Thanks, I needed that."

.~.~.~.

We have dinner at a burger place that a co-worker told Edward about. I find out that the real reason he wants to go is because of the French fries, which are apparently a favorite food of his. I'm more than fine with it though; they have amazing milkshakes.

We decide to walk back to the hotel instead of taking a cab, holding hands as we take a small detour and walk by the water. I haven't said much so far, I haven't needed to – Edward is doing all the talking. It's like a dam has been released; information and stories are flooding out of him, and I love it.

He tells me about growing up; that he's spent his whole life in the same house. He tells me about his parents - his mother was the attentive, super supportive type, and his father the same only really busy with being a doctor.

His happy stories are weaved with painful ones, but after sharing details of his parent's death it seems like the worst has already come out and the other things aren't as hard to tell me. He was an obnoxious kid; a real handful, wanting everyone's attention at all times. When he was nine his mother gave birth to a daughter, a still born, and went into a deep depression. It's painful to watch him share those memories. He explains that was when he began to change, be a better kid, when he began to realize how important family is. When he was thirteen Alice came along, and she brightened up everyone's lives. He says it over and over again; that she's a gift, that she's special. He doesn't say it out loud, but I can tell that he thinks she's all that he has in the world. It hurts me to think that he feels that way; I want to give him more.

Looking out over the water we fall into a comfortable silence, and I pull him close to me again, his chest against mine. I can hear his breathing in my ear and his heart beating against my chest. The overwhelming urge that I have to make this man happy is tearing at me. I don't want to fail him. I want to make him happy, mind, body, and soul. I hope to God he'll let me, because each minute I spend with him is making it that much harder to handle the idea that this may end badly.

The sun is low in the sky behind him, the last bits of daylight making his hair glow as if it's on fire. He leans back and we lock eyes, then he leans forward and puts his lips to mine. They're soft and firm and I kiss him back, so glad that he's making the first move. After a moment, he opens his mouth to deepen the kiss, my lips parting and welcoming his tongue. I moan a bit into his mouth. I can't help it. I feel closer to Edward than ever before, and the fact that he wants to kiss me like this again is driving me crazy. I want him so badly; in every way possible. I want to pull back and tell him over and over again, _I want you_.

His hands come up behind my neck, mine down at his hips. At the same time, we pull each other closer, moaning. Eventually, he pulls away, taking my hand again and leading me back towards the hotel. My mind races, hopeful at the possibilities of what he's thinking, and trying to remember not to push him.

We don't say a word, and when we're in the elevator he pushes the button for the eighth floor, where we've put both our belonging in his room in a rush to get to dinner. For eight floors we kiss softly, slowly, his hands moving up and down my back.

The doors open and I take his hand as we walk to his room. I'm not sure what to do; I want nothing more than to keep kissing him, but now we're in him room and I don't want to him to feel pressured to take this further than it has.

I move towards my bags, and he look at me in alarm.

"Stay for a drink?" he asks in a hopeful voice.

I smile stupidly, amazed at how much things have changed between us since we met.

"Of course," I say as I walk over to where he's standing by the bar.

He smiles back at me, and I see that it's a different kind of smile on his face. It's kind of giddy, carefree. It looks good on him.

"Good," he says, but he doesn't move to pour any drinks. He reaches for me, and I step closer automatically. With Edward, I always want to be close.

His lips meet mine again and I open my mouth, eager for more of him. Slowly, his hands move under my shirt, then run over my stomach up to my chest. He moans short and deep, easing his hips towards mine. I can feel his arousal right next to mine, and if I weren't kissing Edward, I would be panting.

My heart is racing and my mind can't seem to think about anything but getting Edward naked. That leaves my cock in charge, which I fight to control, knowing that isn't the best way to make decisions at the moment.

_I want you. I want you. I want you_.

The words repeat over and over again in my head, only interrupted by images of Edward's lips, his hands, and oh God, his freckle. That damn freckle on his ass. I have no idea how such a small part of his body could be so arousing, but it is. I want to bite it, then kiss it, and pull it up against me.

I become aware that without realizing it, I've pushed him up against the counter, and have been humping him. This is what happens when my cock is running the show. Lucky for me Edward seems to be enjoying it, his cock even harder as he moves it against me, faster and faster.

"Emmett, please," he whispers.

I freeze immediately, because I can't tell if he's asking me to stop or keep going.

"I want you," he says huskily before bringing his lips back to mine again.

Oh God. Hearing the words that have so far only been in my mind come from him is…unbelievably hot.

"Whatever you want, Edward, tell me to stop, or tell me to keep going, okay?" I mutter the words against his lips, still half kissing him, and I hope that he can understand me.

He nods and he kisses back, and somehow through our distracted conversation, I think that we're on the same page.

He pulls my shirt up and I break away from him long enough to pull it over my head, then do the same for him. He's wearing a crew neck, and the shirt is hard to get off. We both laugh a bit until I'm finally successful; his shirt off, but his hair even wilder than it was before.

I lean forward and kiss his neck, long wet kisses up and down his throat and over his collarbone. His hands undo my belt shakily, so much that I look down and to see them for myself. My hand instantly shoots out to stop him, and my eyes lock with his.

"We don't have to do this, Edward. Really. We'll take this as slow as you want."

I hope he knows I'm not just saying this, I mean it.

"I want to, Emmett, so badly," he says with a sad shake of his head. "It's just been…so long." He gulps, and I can see in his eyes that he's pleading with me to understand. I do.

"You say the word, Edward, and we'll stop," I say, and he nods.

His hands finish undoing my belt and he moves the zipper down slowly, the back of his hand grazing my cock. I bite back a moan. His hands push my pants and my boxer briefs down at the same time, and they fall to the ground. My cock is at full attention; ready for what, I'm not sure. Even as turned on as I am I know we won't be having sex tonight; I have enough control to know that isn't a good idea. I'm not sure what I want, anything really. Even just Edward's eyes on me are sexy as hell. If he were to touch me, I may lose my mind.

As I step out of my pants and shoes Edward undoes his own, pushing them down hurriedly until just the head of his cock is showing, precum seeping down him. He freezes, as if he's suddenly become aware of what he is doing.

I want to reassure him that it's okay; he can stop if he wants, but I can't take my eyes off of him. I am totally entranced by him, and he's not even naked.

"Fucking sexy," or something like that escapes my mouth, whatever it is, he likes it and pushes them down the rest of the way until he's standing completely naked in front of me.

We both stand there panting for a few moments, eyes roaming over each other's bodies. I want him to make the next move. I need him to make the next move. I'm not sure how much longer I can take this.

Suddenly, he lunges forward, kissing me and pushing me backwards. I stumble a few feet until I feel the back of my legs hit the bed, and I fall backwards, Edward on top of me.

"Oh, God," I mumble against his mouth, and he bucks his hips against mine in reply. I rise up on my elbows, inching us up further on the bed, until just our feet are hanging off.

"Emmett," he mummers against my neck while jerking his hips up and down, our cocks sliding against each other over and over again.

He moves down to kiss my chest and runs his fingers over my abs. "Two…three…" I chuckle, because I think he's counting. "Eight?" he asks incredulously. "God, you're sexy," he says as he kisses each muscle one by one.

I groan; his mouth is so close to me. So. Close.

Then I feel it, the tip of Edward's tongue on me. Fuck, it feels amazing. He licks me down, then up, and I look down to watch. He grabs my base and slowly covers me with his mouth. It's warm and wet and absolutely perfect.

The sight of his mouth on me makes me feel like my body is on fire. I resist the urge to push myself further into his mouth. That's when I remember that this isn't how I wanted it. Of all the times in the past few weeks that I've imagined being with Edward, it was always him first. I want to make him feel good, maybe even more than I want to see his lips suck me up and down; I want to see the look on his face when he comes.

"Hold on, Edward," I mumble, and he looks up at me confused, and a bit hurt.

"Oh, don't look like that okay?" He sits up and I pull him up to me, placing a few soft kisses on his lips.

"What's wrong?" he mummers against my lips. I can tell that I've hurt his feelings.

"Edward, baby, I want you to keep doing what you're doing so badly, you have no idea…" I'm hard as a rock, and I jerk up against him for emphasis. "But I want to make you come first. Please let me." I'm practically begging.

He looks confused for a second, and then hesitates before he finally nods.

I smile and place another kiss on his lips. He gets up on his knees and leans back, and I guide him so that he's lying on his back. I get the urge to turn him over so I can admire his freckle but his cock is right in front of me, and I just can't resist.

If I've ever seen a perfect cock, it's Edward's. I stare into his eyes and lick my lips before slowly leaning down and taking him into my mouth. I hear a long, loud moan come from Edward, and I try not to smile. I want so badly to make him feel good.

I move down further, then back up slowly, my tongue sliding up against him then swirling at the head.

"Fuck," he spits out. It's the first time I've heard Edward curse, and like so much about him, it is incredibly hot. I rub my own cock against the bed, wishing it were his hand, or my own, but not wanting anything to distract Edward from enjoying this.

I slowly work my way down again, then up, repeating the swirling again. I move back down and reach forward to caress his perineum softly. He moans again, fisting the sheets beneath him.

"Fuck, Emmett, stop."

I freeze, immediately releasing him and look up. His eyes are squeezed shut and he's biting his lip. It doesn't look like he's in pain, but I need to make sure.

"What is it, Edward? Did I hurt you?"

"No…" he groans, and slowly opens his eyes. "You feel so good, Emmett. Too good. I'm going to come any second."

Oh.

His cheeks are red in embarrassment, but hearing that from Edward makes me want to suck him even more. The fact that I know it's been so long for him and that it's me bringing him this kind of pleasure after all this time… I want so badly to give him a mind-blowing orgasm.

He's still rock hard, and even the few moments that my mouth has been away from his cock has left pre-cum has gathered there. He's ready to burst, and I can't wait to make him.

"Don't think about it like that, Edward. Think about how happy you're making me right now. I want so badly to taste you, to swallow your cum. God, baby, I want you so bad."

He's moaning at my words, his cock twitching in my palm. He reluctantly nods an okay and I lean down again to take him in my mouth.

His words are loud, but incoherent, but nothing sounds like "stop" so I continue moving my mouth on him slowly, my hand gently massaging his balls. One, two, three, and he's coming, hard.

"Oh god, Emmett."

I hum around him, loving every second of his pleasure. His orgasm is long, shooting hot spurts down my throat, which I willingly swallow. His cock in my mouth, his constant moans, it's all amazing. But the very best part of it all is his face. Edward has the best come face I've ever seen. He looks like the rest of the world could have blown up, and it doesn't even matter because he feels so fucking good. Every twitch of his lips, every squint of his eyes tells me how good he feels.

He eventually opens his eyes, and I release him, crawling over his body so we're face to face. I lean down to kiss his neck, inhaling his sweaty scent.

"That was fucking amazing, Edward." I whisper into his neck.

"Shouldn't… that…" he pants, his chest coming up to meet mine with each breath. "Be… my… line?"

I laugh softly and he suddenly turns his head, his lips meeting mine. He thrusts his tongue into my mouth with force, determination. He pushes me up off of him until we're both on our knees. He grinds his hips against mine, and now I'm the one who will burst at any second.

My arms move around him, pulling him against me, but he pushes me away. Then, gentler, he pushes me down on my back. Now his lips are at my neck, then at my chest. He places a very soft kiss on each nipple before raking his fingers gently over my stomach. I see that giddy smile again, and he goes straight for my cock.

"Oh," I moan loudly. Some part of me wonders if our neighbors can hear all of this. I don't care. "Edward, you feel…" Incredible… amazing... perfect.

He sucks hard, going deep, even deeper than even I went on him. He pulls back and then pushes forward again. He does this a third time, and I'm beginning to wonder if he even has a gag reflex. On the fourth time, he begins to gag a little and pulls back, and then adjusts to continue as far as he can. I look down and see that his eyes are closed in concentration.

His hands move over my stomach, gently feeling every muscle, and he continues to move his mouth on me, over and over again. Little flicks of his tongue surprise me from time to time and I feel myself slowly building up until I feel like I just can't take it anymore.

"Edward, I'm going to come." I warn him. Just because I was dying to taste him doesn't mean that he feels the same way. He doesn't move away, but he does speed up. My hands are in fists, and my toes curl as I yell out incoherently as I come.

My hips move up and down, more gentle with each thrust. Edward's hands are on my hips, gripping me tightly. "Hmm" he hums around me, and I want to shout out again from that sensation alone.

Eventually, he releases me, and I open my eyes. His smile has gone from giddy to completely victorious. I think Edward may actually be glowing.

"Come here," I demand, and it would sound harsh except, I'm grinning just as much as he is.

He moves quickly, until he's rested in the crook of my arm with his face against my neck. We lie there for a while, not saying anything. There are things that I want to say, words that are floating around in my head.

_You. Amazing. Me. Together. Perfect._

I don't say them out loud though; I just let them swim around in my happy daze.

Edward's breathing becomes even, and I realize that he's fallen asleep. I smile to myself, pleased that I seem to have worn him out.

But then I realize that I'm not sure if he wants me to stay. Last time he seemed to appreciate the fact that I left him alone. I feel like we've moved beyond that now, but then again, I've thought that before with Edward. I frown to myself, going back and forth for a while before deciding that I would rather not overstep any boundaries.

I ease out from underneath him, ready to climb out of the bed when his head hits the pillow and his eyes open.

"Stay," he whispers, then his eyes flutter close.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen for betaing.**

* * *

**Edward's POV**

I dream of Emmett. It's a simple dream, just him in bed next to me, his blue eyes twinkling as he grins at me. He doesn't say anything, but every once in a while he leans in to kiss me softly; sometimes on my neck, others on my forehead, or my lips. His eyes study me but I don't feel uneasy at all. At some point the line between dreaming and reality is blurred, and I find that I'm awake and Emmett actually is here, wrapped around me, my back to his chest. His arm is pulling me close to him, loose enough that I can get up if I need to, tight enough to make me feel that he wants me there. I don't know how he always seems to know exactly what I need. His breathing is even, his breath warm on my neck. I sigh in contentment. I don't want to look at the clock. I don't want to move. If I had a pause button for my life, now would be the perfect time to use it.

I feel him shift a little, squeezing me tighter for just a second before letting go and whispering "Morning," into my neck.

"Morning," I say quietly, turning over to face him. He looks at me, eyes roaming my face, studying me, just like he did in my dream. Right now that line between dream and reality is so unclear I would think that I didn't sleep at all last night except that I feel well rested. I sigh again. _Pause._

"What?" he asks as he brings his hand to my back, pulling me in a little more.

"Nothing," I mumble, almost embarrassed at how perfectly content I am at the moment. "I'm just glad that you stayed."

"I'm glad that you asked me to," he says with a sigh of his own, followed immediately by a scowl. "I wish we didn't have to get up though."

I look over him at the clock on the nightstand. It's definitely time to get up.

"Breakfast?" I ask, hoping to cheer him up. It works; his smile returns.

"With you?" He leans in for a quick kiss. "Sounds perfect."

.~.~.~.

"You're a morning person, aren't you?" I hear a deep voice behind me say. I turn around quickly and am face to face with someone who looks vaguely familiar.

He has wavy brown hair with dark grey, almost black eyes. His jaw is chiseled, his lips drawn back in a smile, revealing perfect teeth. While his handsome face looks familiar, it's his size that is the most striking. He must be closer to seven feet tall than six, and looks like a wrestler - a wrestler wearing a very expensive suit.

He sees me eyeing him and smirks. "Felix Volturi," he says as he holds out a massive hand. "Partner of the firm, recently returned from a extended vacation around Europe. You must be the architect."

"Yes, Edward Cullen," I say slowly, because the way that he's looking at me suddenly makes me feel stupid. This man could crush me with his fists, but just his confident stare is powerful enough to make me nervous. It finally dawns on me where I've seen him before, on the firm's website, towering over all the other partners. I realize that he's still holding out his hand, waiting for me, and I reach forward to shake it. My hand almost disappears in his. He grips it hard, shaking slowly before letting go.

"Does this mean you don't need any coffee?" he asks with another smirk.

"Huh?" I'm not sure what he's talking about. It's hard to think while he's looking at me like that. To say I feel uncomfortable is an understatement.

"Because you're such a morning person," he clarifies slowly, and chuckling a little. "Usually people don't smile like that in the morning unless they've already had their caffeine fix."

Things click into place and I realize that he must have seen me in the conference room, going over my latest sketches and preparing for today's meetings. At least that's what it must have looked like I was doing. Really, my mind was back at the hotel, waking up next to Emmett. Emmett is a great big spoon.

"Actually, coffee would be great," I say as I recover. I'm obviously not going to disclose the real reason that I'm in such a great mood today.

"Okay, I'll have Rebecca bring some in," he says, but doesn't move. His eyes are fixed on me.

We stand there awkwardly for a moment, and I rush to fill the space. "I, um, will be providing an overview of what we've got so far with the plans, as well as updating everyone on a few changes that needed to happen. You've missed a few weeks but today should bring you up to speed…" I'm rambling a bit, because he's still _looking_ at me. Up and down, over and over again. I shift awkwardly from foot to foot.

"I've been gone for a while," he says, and takes a step closer. "Maybe we should have a one on one meeting to go over things so I don't slow things down today for everyone else."

"Well, I don't really think you will, but if that something you would like to do…" I trail off because call me dense, but I think he's hitting on me. I'm pretty sure he's hitting on me.

"How about over dinner tonight?"

Okay… Definitely hitting on me.

"I leave this evening actually; I only fly in for the day from Portland," I say slowly. I'm walking on eggshells here. I don't want to offend him, he is a partner after all, but on the other hand, I want to keep things professional.

He frowns, clearly disappointed. "That's too bad."

Rebecca, a mousy woman with messy brown hair wearing an ill-fitting suit comes into the conference room.

"Coffee, Mr. Cullen?"

I sigh, relieved for the distraction. "I would love a cup," I say, peering at Felix out of the corner of my eye as the room begins to fill.

.~.~.~.

The relief that I feel as soon as I lay eyes on Emmett surprises me. It's as if I've been holding my breath all day, and have finally come up for air. The stress of work, of Felix watching me all day, starts to melt away, and I feel my body practically twitch in the anticipation of having him so close to me.

He smiles when he sees me, walking quickly through the gate to meet me.

I don't say anything, and neither does he. We wrap our arms around each other and pull each other close; our faces nestled into the crook of each other's neck.

I suddenly realize that this has easily been the best part of my day.

No words needed, no grand gestures.

It's that simple.

And it scares me.

.~.~.~.

I feel the buzz of my phone in my pocket, and I'm itching to check. I know who it's from. It's been two weeks since I asked Emmett to stay with me that night. Emmett has taken to sending me text messages throughout the day, which I discretely check at work or at home. I reply whenever I can, although I receive much more than I send.

He sends me the most random things. Many times they are questions. _What is your favorite color? Miracle Whip or Mayo? Are you as horny as I am? _I answer when I can, sometimes all at once. _Blue. Mayo. YES._

Sometimes the texts he sends aren't questions, they are random thoughts, as if something occurred to him and he just had to share. _I think I'll make ravioli for dinner. The deli on the corner has the best coffee; I want to take you there. Squirrels are useless animals._

We talk almost every night after Alice goes to sleep. It's all become a welcome routine, although not perfect. For instance, right now all I want to do is check my phone to see what Emmett sent me, but I can't. I can't let Alice catch on to the fact that I'm seeing someone, and I have to focus at the task on hand – teaching Alice how to drive.

"Don't forget to put your blinker on," Bella's voice chimes in from the backseat.

"It's too early," Alice barks back.

"No it's –"

I cut her off. Poor Alice is trying to focus here. "I'm the teacher here Bella, just relax okay?" Bella huffs quietly and falls back into the backseat. "Alice – blinker."

Alice does as she's told, turning on her left blinker before she pulls up at the stoplight. We've been doing this for a few weeks. Going out in the evenings, starting with empty parking lots then graduating to streets in the neighborhood. She's a fast learner, but the thought about her behind the wheel all by herself is unsettling. I frown. It seems like I'll never be comfortable with Alice being a driver.

It's a long light. I look over and see Alice taking in her surroundings, making note of what cars are around her, checking back at the light every few seconds. I see that Bella is sending a text on her phone. I might have a few quick seconds. No one will notice…I pull my phone out off the pocket of my jeans, sliding it unlocked and to see Emmett's text.

_I hope you're smiling right now._

Well…now I am. I want to reply right away. I want to tell him that he always makes me smile, whether it's his arms wrapped around me, or his voice on the phone, or just him in my daydreams. However, I'm brought out back to the present by a familiar sound - the shriek of a teenage girl.

"How can you do this to me, Alice? You _know_ how much this means to me. I mean, it's the _Prom!_"

I quickly shove my phone back in my pocket just as the light turns green. Alice eases forward and makes a perfect turn. That's my girl.

Alice ignores her, keeping up with traffic at a perfect pace.

"You _have _to go, Alice. You're my best friend. You wouldn't really make me go alone, would you?" Bella whines right into my ear. She's leaning into the front seat of the Volvo, trying to get Alice to pay attention to her.

"She's driving, Bella. Let her concentrate, okay? And she doesn't have to go to the prom if she doesn't want to," I say firmly, turning to look at Bella. She looks hurt, wounded almost.

I hate that look. I swear sometimes these girls have me wrapped around their little fingers. "Let her think about it. If she wants to go I'll take you guys dress shopping." I cringe as I say the words because shopping is the last thing I want to do. Fortunately, Alice has never been much of a shopper; she's always preferred to steal things out of my closet instead. And thanks to the internet, I almost never actually have to step foot into a mall.

"Okay," Bella says, happily, leaning back into her seat again. From the look on her face I can already tell that she's already scheming, figuring out a way to get Alice to the prom.

We drive around for a few while longer, until it starts to get dark. I have Alice turn around so that we can take Bella home, but when she turns back towards our home, I tell her to keep going; I want Alice to be able to concentrate for this part.

"But it's getting dark," she asks, confused.

"You need to know how to drive in the dark too, Alice. "

She taps the wheel nervously as she keeps going. I point out a few things along the way, and after a while she seems more comfortable.

"So have you decided what kind of car you want?" I wait for her to answer, hoping that she'll say a Volvo, but knowing that probably won't happen.

"I haven't really thought about it," she says, taking a look around. There is a Porsche parked on the street, and she points to it. "How about one of those? In bright red, or maybe yellow?"

She laughs, and I shake my head. I probably shouldn't even bring up going to the Volvo dealership.

"Want a snack?" I ask, suddenly wanting some comfort food.

"Sure," she says, and navigates the car to the nearest McDonald's drive-thru. She pulls us through the narrow passage with ease, and once we have our food, we park in the almost empty lot.

She snacks on an apple pie, and I dig into my order of French fries. The scene is familiar, and I realize what I've done without even realizing it. I've recreated a memory, one I haven't thought about in years. Alice and I talk about our parents, not all the time, but enough that their presence is more than just framed pictures in the house. I've never shared this memory with her though.

"Dad taught me to drive in his Mercedes."

"He did?" She asks, surprised. Even she could remember him fussing over his car, his baby.

"I know," I say as I lean back in the seat. "You would think he would have taken me out in Mom's car. But hers was in the shop getting new brakes or something, and dad insisted that I would be even more careful if it was his car." I reach into the bag and pull out a few more fries, devouring them quickly.

"Did you crash or something?" Alice asks, eyes still wide.

"Nope," I say, smiling a little from the memory. "I was so proud of myself, you know? I felt like a man driving Dad's car." I shut my eyes for just a second, remembering that rare feeling. After our parents deaths I had no choice to be a real man, even though I felt far from it.

I look over and see Alice staring at me, a concerned look on her face. I don't want to worry her so I continue. "Anyway, afterwards we went out to McDonald's and sat in the parking lot and celebrated with French fries."

"Really?" she asks with a sad smile.

"Yeah…it kind of became a tradition. Mom always yelled at him for eating fried foods, said that it was bad for his health, that as a doctor he should know better. But he couldn't resist. He started using our driving lessons as cover. Every time we went out for a drive we ended up at the drive-thru."

She smiles sadly, and I wonder what she's thinking about, but she doesn't say.

We sit in silence for a few minutes, the chomping of fries the only noise.

"Edward?" Alice says quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Can you teach me to drive on dad's car? I mean…" she trails off, as if she is nervous, and Alice is rarely nervous. "Can I have dad's car? I would...like to have it."

I take a sharp breath in. I've never even considered doing anything with the Mercedes other than taking it for routine maintenance and the occasional short drive. That was just to ensure that everything still ran, which was sad really, because all I ever did was put it back in the garage and cover it with a grey sheet.

"I thought you wanted a yellow Porsche," I say with a nervous laugh. Part of me wants to beg her to change her mind. It almost feels like if someone else were to drive it, I would be losing a part of him.

"I don't have to," she says. Alice knows me too well, and she can tell that she's upsetting me. "We can get a new car, or you can give me the Volvo, whatever."

I cock my eyebrow up in surprise. "You'll take the Volvo?"

"Yes. Whatever you want, Edward. I just…" she says as she toys with the hem of her shirt. "I just thought it would be nice to have something of Dad's."

Sometimes it seems that Alice was in a much better place than me. That she'd accepted their deaths and is more prepared for a life without them than I am. Alice doesn't ask for a lot. I don't see how I can say no.

"Yeah, sure," I say, my chest tightening just a bit.

She smiles her thanks, bouncing in her seat a little, and we both fall silent, lost in thought.

"You don't have to go to Prom if you don't want to you know," I finally say, figuring that we need a change in topic.

"I _want_ to go to the prom, Edward," she says like it's obvious.

"But you told Bella…" I scratch my head, confused. Even if she hadn't said it to Bella I had a hard time picturing Alice getting all dressed up to go to something like that.

She sighs, and rolls her eyes a little. "I want to go to the prom, I just…"

I wait for a few moments, until is seems like she isn't going to finish. "You just…."

She looks out the window, avoiding my eyes. "I don't have anyone to go with."

Oh. This is a boy thing. Well crap. I knew this day would come.

"There are a lot of boys at your school," I point out stupidly, as if this is news to her. I'm not sure what it is that she wants. I don't think that she would have any trouble finding a date, if that's what she decides she wants. Isn't that all she needs? A date and a dress?

"Like that helps. I don't like any of those boys. Boys are stupid."

Yes, yes we are. I can fully admit that I feel very stupid at the moment. Not to mention freaked out. If she's already decided that she doesn't like any of the boys at school that means she's been thinking about this for a while. And that's news to me.

She looks at me as if she's as uncomfortable as I am. "Whatever, it's not like Prom is next week. I don't have to decide now. Maybe I'll go, maybe I won't."

I'm quiet on the way home, not sure what to say. Part of me is relieved. I don't know if I'm ready for Alice to date yet. I don't think I can handle hearing about her having a love life. But if she had one… I can't deny that I would want to know about it.

I feel guilty, realizing that now that I have a love life of my own, I'm essentially hiding it from her. I quickly tell myself that its not the same thing, and we make our way home.

.~.~.~.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen for betaing.**

* * *

**Emmett's POV**

"Ugh, Em. You're making me sick," Rose says as she pointedly takes a large sip of her margarita.

"Huh?"

It's Margarita Monday, and we're sitting in our favorite booth near the bar. She's on her second, no third, strawberry margarita.

"You, Mister." She points a finger at me. "All this talk about your lover boy." She lowers her voice and mocks me. "Edward is so good at his job. Edward is the best big brother. Edward has the most amazing eyes, and lips, and…"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" I roll my eyes, and she smiles as she glares at me, shaking her head.

"You've got it bad."

I do. I've got it really bad. I realize that I've become one of those annoying people who are so happy others wonder if you're actually all there. It's hard not to grin like an idiot all day at work, and Angela has even told me that lately all the water cooler talk is about me.

Edward and I have gotten so close through our talks each night; he's opened up in a way I didn't think possible when we first met. And our nights in Seattle…it seems like every day is just a day on the countdown to be with him again. Until I walk up to him at the airport, until we fall asleep in each other's arms, all ending right back where we started, saying good-bye for another week.

I've told Rose all of this many times, but I have yet to hear the one thing from her that I need to hear. "Aren't you happy for me?"

She hasn't said the words; my mother, on the other hand, has made her feelings quite clear – she is ecstatic. Their opinions about Edward matter more than anyone else's.

"Yes, Emmett, of course I'm happy for you," she says, and I can see she's telling the truth. There's something about the way she says it though, as if she's holding something back. She almost sounds hurt, or jealous.

"I love that you're so obnoxiously happy. Just don't do anything stupid though, like propose." She snorts as she says it, and then her eyes go wide. "Seriously, Emmett, _don't_."

"Of course not," I scoff, although to be honest that particular fantasy has entered my mind. "I haven't even meet Alice yet."

She eyes me warily, by drops it and goes back to her food.

I get lost in my amazing carne asada burrito for a few minutes before finally looking up to see her frozen in place, margarita halfway to her lips.

"Rose?"

It takes a few seconds, but she looks back at me. "Huh?"

"You okay?" I laugh; Rose is normally not so flaky.

"Um," she wrinkles her brow, and looks down at my half-eaten burrito. "You're done, right? Wanna get out of here? Maybe get some gelato?"

Before I even answer she throws her napkin down and reaches for her purse.

"What?" I ask. "It's Margarita Monday, Rose. You love Margarita Mondays, and we haven't been in over a month."

She glances around nervously, and then back at me. I narrow my eyes and turn, scanning the restaurant for whatever the hell it is that's bothering her.

Then I see it. Him. Peter.

I can almost hear Rose cringe, knowing that I've spotted him too. I can't look at her though; my eyes are glued on him.

He's by the bar, pulling out his wallet to pay for his drink. I don't even have to look and see what it is. A shot of Jose Curevo Silver with a lime, it always is. He tosses his brown hair out of his face and smiles at the bartender. They chat; Peter was always a talker, and I take the rest of him in. He's wearing the brown shirt. The really soft one that I always told him I loved because it made touching him that much better. He's also wearing his favorite jeans; the ones that make his ass look especially good. My eyes roam, and I'm pretty sure that's not the only part of me that's moving. I'm not even sure if I'm breathing right now.

"Emmett!" I finally hear Rose snap, and I turn to look at her. "Are you okay?" she asks, and reaches over to cover my hand with hers.

I manage a small nod and a few gulps of air before I turn back to face him. He's still chatting with the bartender, flashing his white smile in a knowing way.

I focus on that smile, the one that always made me so happy, and I see something new, something I never noticed before. It's fake. That's not a real smile on Peter's face. He's obviously flirting, probably trying to get free drinks. Can't the bartender see that? I glance over at him briefly; black shirt, black jeans, black tattoos covering his arm. He's leaning in too, soaking it up. Obviously, he can't tell that he's being used. Poor idiot.

I look back over at Peter, who is now pulling out all the shots, leaning over the bar, whispering in the guy's ear. As if it's too loud in here to have a conversation. It's not. I notice other things too. That shirt, that favorite shirt of mine, is a bit too tight. So are his jeans. The way he grips the bar, arching his back…he's just screaming for a fuck. Why the hell didn't I see this before?

He leans back a little, locking eyes with his victim, looking up at him with a dedicated stare. The same one that I always thought was just for me. My stomach is in knots, and I kind of want to puke.

But I don't. Instead… I laugh.

My head falls into my hands and I close my eyes, trying to hold it all in. But I can't. My body is shaking from my laughter and then I finally realize that some of the shaking is actually coming from Rose.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she hisses, giving me one last push until I finally look up at her.

I shake my head, because at this moment I am beyond words. I look back over at Peter, who is taking a shot _with_ the bar idiot. Any minute now and he'll have that guy licking salt off his neck. This makes me almost fall off my chair. It is so damn funny and unfunny at the same time.

I think back on all of the nights I spent missing him, wondering what the hell I did wrong. How insecure he made me feel because apparently I wasn't enough for him, he had to go behind my back for more. It hits me hard, and fast. I haven't lost anything at all – I dodged a bullet.

"Seriously, Emmett!" Rose hisses quietly, and I look at her to see her glaring at me.

"Sorry, Rose…" I manage get out, taking a few breaths so that I can actually speak. "It's just…"

She stares at me expectantly. She's probably wondering if I need to be locked up, or heavily medicated, or at the very least, put into a sugar coma.

"It's just…" I glance over at Peter one more time. His wallet is back in his pocket, and I don't see any cash on the bar. Mission accomplished. "What did I ever see in him?"

Slowly, Rose smiles, and then shakes her head. "I have no idea."

I pull out my wallet and throw down some bills. "Come on, let's get out of here. He knew I would be here. He's just trying to get to me. And I don't want anything to do with him, not anymore."

.~.~.~.

Each week in Seattle we try a new restaurant, taking turns choosing. This time it's Indian food, and while it was delicious, I'm anxious to get him back to the hotel. Watching Edward lick curry off his fingers for the past hour has done things to me - which makes me want to do things to him.

I follow him out of the narrow entrance of the restaurant, and he glances back, almost as if he's checking to see that I'm still behind him. Of course I'm here. There's nowhere else I'd rather be…except maybe on top of him. I'm hoping that's soon, but I'm not bringing it up until I think he's ready. And by the way he was moaning over the phone the other night, I don't think I'll have to wait that long.

As soon as he reaches the sidewalk he freezes, and I almost run right into him. I stop short, and look over his shoulder to see what's wrong.

"Felix," I hear him say nervously, and I tense as I take in the huge man in front of me. He's tall, taller than I am, with dark features, and looks like he spends hours every day in the gym. I hold my breath for a second because damn it, if Edward has a "type", I may be in trouble.

"Edward," Felix says. "What a pleasant surprise." He smiles, and it's full of confidence – as if no one has ever told him "no" in his entire life.

"Um, yes," Edward mumbles, and I step around until I'm standing right next to him. He glances at me and looks a little relieved. "Emmett, this is Felix Volturi, a partner at the firm. Felix, this is Emmett McCarty, my…"

"Boyfriend." I finish for him, and Felix's eyes snap over to me, acknowledging me for the first time. I hold out my hand and wait until he flashes another cocky smile, taking my hand in his. I squeeze it, hard, and he does the same. Our eyes meet and they both narrow, and we stand there, glaring and squeezing for what seems an eternity.

Edward coughs, and Felix looks over at him, and then drops my hand.

"So, Edward, are you ready for tomorrow? Have you made the changes that we discussed?" he asks as he smiles at Edward, his dark eyes roaming up and down, as if he wants to strip Edward naked right then and there.

I feel my face get hot, and I take a step closer to Felix.

"Yes, I'm all set, I think everyone…" Edward eyes me wearily as I take another step forward. "That everyone will be happy with the progress."

"Good," Felix says, as his eyes lock with Edward's and he licks his lips. Edward looks uneasy, and his eyes shift over to me nervously.

My hands ball into fists at my sides, and I clench my teeth.

"Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," Edward rushes out, obviously anxious to get away.

"Do you think you'll have time for a meeting next week?" Felix rushes out, not wanting Edward to leave. "Since you can't make it Wednesday night, how about Tuesday?" He asks innocently, as if I'm not standing right here. "There are a few things I'd like you to show me, and I think it would be best if we went over it one on one."

I swear I'm seeing red; my fist is twitching, wanting nothing more than to meet his face. Felix Volturi has got to the most arrogant asshole I've ever met in my life.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Edward's mouth drop open, and a second later, snap shut.

"Edward has plans for next week," I say loudly, commanding Felix's attention.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, with _me_. His _boyfriend_. He won't have time for any 'one-on-ones' with you." I spit out the words, and I'm not sure how I can be any clearer. Felix is unfazed though; he _smirks_, and it's almost as if he wants to laugh in my face.

"I think that if Edward is busy he would tell me so. Besides, I'm not sure that he knows yet just how much he would enjoy some one on one time. I'd hardly make it seem like work at all." He looks at Edward when he says this, his eyes roaming up and down again. Then he takes a step forward, away from me, and closer to Edward, and I feel my entire body tense, ready for attack. I haven't been in a fight since high school, when I found out that Tyler Crowley had taken pictures of Rose in her underwear, but fuck, I want to beat the hell out of this guy.

"Listen, _Felix_," I spit out and move so that we're face to face. His dark eyes are angry, blazing with the challenge I'm making.

"We've got to go. Sorry, but I will be busy next week," Edward says as he firmly grips my arm and starts to pull me away. "I'll see you tomorrow, Felix."

Edward all but drags me away and down the street, until we pass a small alleyway that he pulls me into.

"What the hell was that, Emmett?" he yells, arms waving. "What were you going to do? Hit him?"

"He had it coming, Edward!" I yell back. What the hell? Was he going to defend Felix? After how he just acted?

"I don't care if he did or not; you should have had some self control."

"Me not hitting him _was_ having self control," I growl back at him. I don't want to do this; I don't want to fight, but I don't understand how he can think I did anything wrong.

"Think about it, Emmett. Felix is a partner at the firm. He has the power to get me taken off the Volturi account." His eyes are angry, but also pleading for me to understand. "Is that what you want? For me to stop coming to Seattle?"

Then it hits me. Fuck. Seattle is the only time I get to see Edward each week, if we didn't have Seattle it would be like taking ten steps back in our relationship. The thought makes my chest ache.

"Of course not," I whisper. "I want to spend as much time with you as I can. I just…" I rub my hand over my face in frustration. "Shit, I'm sorry, Edward. I wasn't thinking. I just couldn't stand the way he was acting, the way he was looking at you. I'm so sorry."

Edward takes a few steps closer to me, running his hand through his hair. "It's fine. I know that Felix is out of line. He's been eyeing me for a few weeks now…but I need you to trust me. I'll handle it. I just…I don't want this taken away from us, okay? The thought of not seeing you every week kills me."

I sigh. Part of me is happy to hear that seeing me is as important to him as it is to me. Part of me wants to ask him why we just don't take the next step and introduce me to Alice already. But I have no way to know if that would be _me_ being out of line. When is the right time? I want so badly for him to tell me that he's ready, for him to make that decision.

"Me too," I whisper, and hoping that he's still not mad at me, I slowly pull him up against me.

He freezes, and I immediately realize why.

"Edward?" I ask as I pull him up against me firmly. "Did…that _incident_…did that turn you on?" I whisper into his ear as I rub up against his groin, feeling his erection against my leg.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Edward's cheeks go red, and he lowers his face into my neck. "Maybe…" he says as he rolls his hips into mine. "Maybe a little."

Well hell, I wasn't expecting that. "Maybe," I whisper in return, "I can make things up to you… for behaving so badly."

He groans in response, and pulls my lips to his. He kisses me hard, his tongue invading my mouth, his hands in my hair. He doesn't answer yes or no, just kisses me as I grip his hips and pull him hard against me.

"Fuck," I whisper against his lips. "Let's go back to the hotel."

He nods and grabs my hand, pulling me down back towards the sidewalk, then practically runs into the street to hail a cab. One pulls over and he yanks the door and I follow him in.

Edward is sitting in the backseat facing me and as soon as I get in, I crawl over him, pushing his back up against the cab door. I kiss him hard, one hand behind him, pushing his shirt up to run my fingers up and down over his skin.

"You guys need to tell me an address. I don't rent this cab by the hour," the driver says to us, clearly annoyed.

I bark out the name of the hotel, and return my lips to where they belong – on Edward's. We kiss as the cab lurches into motion, and we make a few turns, some of which forces me away from his, and others pushing me deliciously closer. As much as I'm enjoying this, and I am really enjoying this, I feel like I need to know.

"I don't get it, Edward, you were angry at me. I might have fucked things up for us, why does that…" I trail off, and rub my hips into him.

He stills for a moment, and looks up at me. "You want me," he whispers, looking out the car door window behind me.

"I definitely want you. From the very beginning; from the second I ran into you at the airport," I confess, taking his hand in mine.

"You said that you're my boyfriend," he says a little louder, moving his eyes to meet mine. "I've never heard you say that before…" he trails off, rubbing circles on my hand with his thumb. "I liked it."

I kind of melt a little, because damn it, I like that he liked hearing it. I liked saying it. It feels good to put that label on us; we've moved on from dating, from the grey zone around it. We're a couple – officially- and I almost want to do a victory dance. It's one step closer to where I want to be – and that's wherever the hell Edward is. Seattle, Portland, Antarctica, I don't really care.

"I'm still mad at you though," he says as he cocks an eyebrow, challenging me to object.

"I'll make it up to you," I promise, leaning in to kiss him again.

"Not in here you won't," the driver snaps, and I realize that we're in front of the hotel.

We both scramble up, and I reach into my pocket for some cash. I throw some bills on the seat and realize that I may have left him a huge tip, but I guess he deserves it for putting up with us.

We race through the lobby, and I see the girls at the front desk smile at each other. I grin back knowingly, but Edward is too busy pulling me to the elevator to notice. The doors open and I push him up against the wall, moaning. This is what I've wanted to do from the beginning. Edward, his back against the wall, his tongue in my mouth, his hands on my ass. There are so many other things I want to do in this elevator, and my mind races, fantasies running wild.

The door opens and we run to the eighth floor to our room, and Edward searches his pockets for the key. He finds it and once the door is open we almost fall inside. There is a waterfall of sweaters, shirts, and underwear; we're naked in what seems like an instant, and I push him against the wall again.

"How can I make it up to you?" I growl against his throat, reaching down between us to stroke his hard cock. I stroke him slowly, my kisses to matching the pace of my hand. "Huh, baby? What do you want me to do…"

He groans in response, pushing into my hand. "I think.." he says as he pants, "you're on the right track."

I chuckle against him, and he pushes me back a little. "You think this is funny, Emmett?" he laughs to himself, walking forward so I'm forced backwards, towards the bed. "I'm going to make you work for this…" he grins a wicked little smile I've never seen before – I like it.

I climb on to the bed behind me until I'm lying on my back; he climbs over me until his cock is at my lips. I open, grabbing him with one hand and taking him in my mouth, and he moans. "God, Emmett, you feel so good."

His hips move up and down and my lips work him over, again and again until he's panting, and I can see his arms shaking. I slowly reach up with my other hand behind him, my fingers finding that spot between his ass cheeks that I've been fantasizing about for weeks. I must have taken him by surprise, because as soon as he feels me, he jumps. But as my fingers circle him slowly, he moans, which makes me moan around him, causing him to moan again. I feel like we could do this forever, my fingers going in circles, our moans doing the same.

I feel him tensing, getting close, but I'm not sure that I've made my penance just yet. I pull him out of my mouth. "Get on your back, Edward," I say, and he doesn't object. He scrambles to the head of the bed as I lean over to my bag that is resting against the nightstand. I pull out a bottle of lube, and his eyes go wide in anticipation. I coat my fingers with the lube and he bites his lip, his hooded eyes never leaving mine.

I lean forward and push his legs open, propping one up so that I have better access. I reach forward with one coated finger, and look up to see his reaction. He moans in anticipation, and I push forward, slowly entering him. "Oh, Emmett," he says as my hand meets his ass. I move back and forth a few times, and his groans grow louder with each pass. "More," he whispers, so quietly that I can barely hear, and I add another, my movements slow, then finally quickening in pace. I bring my mouth down to him, covering him, my tongue curling against the head of his cock as my fingers curl inside of him. "Shit," he spits out, and I can tell that he's close.

I quicken my pace, my mouth working him over as my fingers go deeper and deeper into his ass. One final push and he's there, coming in my mouth, his ass clenching around my fingers over and over again.

I take it all in, moaning around him, rubbing my own hard cock against his leg. When he's done, I pull away, looking up at him with a smile.

"Come here," he demands, echoing my words from our first night together. I move up the bed until I'm next to him, and I prop self up on one arm.

"So am I forgiven?" I ask innocently.

He just smiles, and he doesn't even need to answer. I am.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen and dellaterra for betaing.**

* * *

**Edward's POV**

I look at the clock on my desk and groan. It's late. I should have left work over an hour ago. All I want to do is go home and enjoy a quiet Friday night with Alice… and call Emmett. But I had spent the last half hour while my boss, Mr. Banner stopped by to "chat" just when I was trying to finish up my work for the day. He spent the whole conversation lecturing me on how important the Volutri project is for the firm; how much a successful project like that could do for the firm's reputation, and more importantly, how it is going to be a large portion of it's revenue for next few years. Of course, not once did he mention all of the good work that I've done, the progress that I've made. Why? Because Mr. Banner is an impatient, thankless asshole; and up until I met Felix, he very worst part of my job.

He finally left, probably patting himself on the back for doing such a "good job" by keeping his employees in line. He hadn't told me anything that I didn't already know. I feel the pressure at work everyday, trying to make the clients happy and do my best work at the same time, all the while making sure that I represent the firm well. But ever since this issue with Felix began, I spend more and more time trying to figure out how to deal with that instead.

Running into Felix on Tuesday had been both surprising and horrible. Since we met his advances have gotten increasingly less subtle, and the moment I laid eyes on him as Emmett and I left the restaurant I knew that nothing but trouble could come from the encounter. I was right. Felix was more outright than ever in the fact that he was interested in me, and Emmett obviously did not appreciate his forwardness.

I had been angry that Emmett seemed to react without thinking; but then it hit me – boyfriend. Emmett called me his _boyfriend_. To say I was confused is an understatement. I was angry, worried, and happy all at the same time. Emmett was right in Felix's face when I finally dragged him away. At least I was able to stop things before it got physical between them. And lucky for me, the night went in a different direction – things got physical between us instead. How could I _not_ forgive Emmett after he took me back to the hotel, and tried to make it up to me?

Then on Wednesday Felix had been… different. Whenever I saw him he still looked at me, and watched me – but he didn't say a word. It was passive, almost as if he were trying to figure something out. It was both a relief and worrisome. I didn't get the feeling that Felix was one to give up on things easily. But at least it gave me some time to think about things.

_Trust me. I'll handle it._ That's what I told Emmett. The problem is, I have no idea how to handle it.

Felix has the power to get me pulled from the project, and probably get fired as a result - and I can't get fired. My parent's life insurance payments covered the rest of the mortgage on the house, and was enough for me to add to Alice's college fund, but there is still everyday bills to worry about, not to mention saving for Medical School for Alice. We are comfortable as it is right now, but me not working is not an option.

I could just avoid the situation all together and ask Mr. Banner to put me on a different project, but a change like that is a big disruption to the client. I've seen collogues gets fired over less. And even if my request isn't enough to have him fire me, I wouldn't be able to see Emmett in Seattle. My chest tightens a little at the thought of it. Of course, if that were to happen I know that I always have the option of starting to see Emmett in Portland, and introduce him to Alice. But I just can't bring myself to do that – not yet.

I put the last of my files away and shut down my computer. My hand is on the door when I hear my office phone ring. I freeze, wondering who would be calling me at this hour on a Friday. Reluctantly, I answer it, hoping that it's nothing that will keep me at the office for any longer.

"Edward Cullen."

"Edward, I'm glad I caught you."

I stiffen, because I immediately recognize the voice on the line. I had been thinking about him, not minutes before.

"Felix," I say, trying to keep my voice steady. I have no idea why he would be calling at all, especially so late on a Friday.

I'm sure that he can tell I'm caught off guard, and he chuckles. "No need to sound worried, Edward. I'm just calling to apologize."

Apologize? I stand there, stunned. I know exactly what he should be apologizing for, but I am completely taken aback that he actually would… I don't know what to say.

"I've thought about it, and realized that I have been out of line - especially this week. I obviously upset your boyfriend, and you with our little encounter. I didn't want to wait until next week to tell you that."

"Oh. Well, thank you, Felix," I say slowly, still taken aback by the turn in events. "I appreciate that."

"I've never mixed business with pleasure before, and now is obviously not the time to start. From now on things will remain completely professional between us, I'm sure you can agree with that," he says firmly, but in a condescending tone.

"Professional. Yes." Is all I manage to get out.

"Well then, I will see you on Wednesday, Edward. You have a nice weekend now," he says politely -almost too politely.

"Same to you," I say quietly, before hanging up the phone.

I stand there in shock for a minute, completely perplexed at what has just happened. Obviously, I don't know much about Felix, but what I know tells me that he doesn't back down from things very easily. His apology is shocking. Regardless, I sigh in relief.

Maybe, just maybe… it's over. I drive home almost giddy at the idea. Work, Alice, and Emmett. Those are the only things in my life that I want to focus on.

I pull up to the house with a smile on my face. It's so nice to be home. I drop my bag in the hallway and head straight for the kitchen to get a cold beer. I can hear noises from a video game coming from the living room, and figure that maybe Alice and I will play a few games and maybe just order a pizza for dinner.

I turn the corner and am surprised to see Bella in the kitchen, staring out the window.

"Hey, Bella, what are you doing in here by yourself?" I ask as I open the fridge.

She looks at me and smiles, as if my presence just brightened her day considerably.

"Oh, hi, Edward," she says, as she tosses her long brown hair over her shoulder and flutters her eyes.

"You don't want to play video games with Alice?" I ask, although I'm not surprised. Bella was never into that sort of thing.

"No," she says as she rolls her eyes. "Alice is playing with _Jasper_."

I freeze, my beer halfway to my lips. "Who's Jasper?"

"He's new at school; from Texas. Today was his first day. He's pretty cute, like, in a skater boy kind of way. Apparently, he's Alice's new best friend," she says as she rolls her eyes, and I actually kind of feel sorry for her.

"Oh!" Bella exclaims as she jumps in her seat. "But maybe Alice will go to the prom with him!" She giggles and her eyes go wide at the idea.

The idea makes my stomach flip. The more I think about Alice dating, the more uneasy I am with the idea. This is new territory for me.

This Jasper kid…well. I would need to see about him.

"Alice?" I call out as I head towards the living room, Bella right behind me.

She doesn't answer, probably not hearing me over the game. I sigh, and walk towards the living room, taking another sip of beer as I go. I feel like I really need a drink right now.

I walk into the living room and freeze. Sitting next to her on the couch is a blonde haired boy, maybe sixteen or seventeen. He's wearing a red t-shirt with some kind of large logo on it, and jeans with several holes in them. He's sitting right next to Alice, eyes glued to the screen.

"Did you say something, Eddie?" Alice asks, her eyes not leaving the screen, her fingers flying over the controller. "Ha! I killed you!" She yells as she jumps up from the couch and bounces up and down, "I win!"

The blonde kid drops his face into his hands. "I can't believe I got my ass kicked by a girl."

"A _cheerleader_," Alice teases, pushing him over so he falls on the couch.

She's all smiles as he groans on the couch from his defeat. Then she remembers that I'm here. "Oh, Eddie, this is Jasper Whitlock. He just moved here from Texas."

Jasper looks up at me, embarrassed, and stands up to hold out his hand. "Oh hey, it's nice to meet you, Eddie."

I cross my arms over my chest and stare at him; sizing him up. Jasper Whitlock. He needs a haircut. I can barely see his eyes underneath all that hair.

"I mean, Edward," he says as he shifts awkwardly from foot to foot.

And what the hell is that thing on his shirt? Some brand I've never heard of? A band logo? A gang sign?

He coughs, and glances around the room. "I mean… Sir."

"Edward…" Alice warns, and raises a brow, giving me a look.

"It's nice to meet you, Jasper," I say as politely as I can manage, and finally reach out to shake his hand. It's shaking a little, and kind of sweaty. Good.

"You don't sound like you're from Texas," I point out. Aren't Southern boys supposed to have better manners? I mean…he called me Eddie.

"I'm actually from Portland originally, but I've just spent the last few years living with my dad in Texas. His job is taking him overseas, so I'm back here with my mom."

"What grade are you in?"

"Same as Alice."

"What's your GPA?"

"Um, three point two…"

"You have a girlfriend?"

"Edward!" Alice snaps, glaring at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Bella standing there frozen, eyes wide.

I shrug, and Jasper looks down to stare at his feet. Alice walks towards the kitchen. "Can I talk to you, Edward? _Now._"

I huff, but follow her. Bella wisely stays put.

"What's going on with you, Edward?" She stands with her arms crossed over her chest. "Why are you being so mean to Jasper?"

"I'm not being mean," I grumble.

"Yes you are. You're being mean and you're never mean to my friends. So what's your problem?"

"Do you like that boy?" I ask, because she seems to really like him, and that bothers me a whole lot more now than it would have a few weeks ago.

"He seems cool," she says with a shrug.

"I mean, do you _like _him. Like you want to date him," I cringe as I say it, because damn it, this is weird.

Alice's jaw drops open, and she stares at me in disbelief. She snaps her jaw shut and glares at me.

"I'd better – I'm carrying his baby after all."

"What?" I yell, so loudly that the neighbors must be able to hear it.

"I'm kidding!" Alice yells right back, and rolls her eyes. "Lighten up, Edward. Geez."

"Not funny, Alice. Not funny at all."

Alice rolls her eyes and leaves the kitchen. A moment later I hear the sounds of another game starting, and Alice and Jasper seem to be having fun shooting the hell out of each other.

I groan, and walk down the hall towards my bedroom. It's huge - much too big for just me. It wasn't until two years after by parents' died that I could bring myself to clean out the master bedroom. It was hard, seeing all my parents' belongings; things that I recognized, and things that I didn't. But Alice wanted to move into my room and I knew that it wasn't good to keep their bedroom locked up like a tomb.

So once I went through everything, donating some things, and storing others; I stripped the entire room. I painted it a white with a dark trim, and decorated the walls with photographs of my favorite buildings, and of Alice and I. It looked like a completely different room now, which was good. I don't think I would be able to sleep in it otherwise.

I had kept one thing of my parents though. A single wooden picture frame sat on my nightstand. I had made it in shop class for my mother right after Alice was born. The frame is lopsided, but my mother had said she loved it anyway. Inside was a picture of the four of us in the hospital. Alice was only a few hours old, her eyes shut and a dark mess of hair on her head. It was the only thing of my parents that I kept in this room, and it was the last thing I saw before I went to sleep, and the first thing I saw when I woke up.

I pry my eyes away from the photo and I dial Emmett, anxiously waiting for him to answer. I barely bother with a _hello_ when I hear him answer the phone. I need to share all of this with him. The person I usually talk to about things – Alice, is obviously biased in this scenario.

He answers the phone after two rings.

"There's a boy in my house," I blurt out, before he can say anything.

"Is that the name of a porno?" Emmett says with a deep laugh.

"No, Emmett. There is _boy_ in my house. Someone Alice brought over," I snap as I say it, a little irritated.

"Oh. Well that's cool, how do you like him?" Emmett sounds so optimistic - as if this is a good thing. I sigh, because obviously Emmett does not understand the severity of this situation.

"I don't like him. I think he's trouble."

"Edward," He says with a laugh, "You're too funny. You're just worried about Alice starting to date."

"He's in a gang," I say bluntly.

"What? How do you know?"

"His shirt has a weird thing on it," I whine. I know I'm stretching here.

"That doesn't mean he's in a gang, Edward."

"That doesn't mean he isn't."

"Edward, you need to relax." Emmett sighs. "Alice is going to date. I mean, what were you doing at her age?"

I think back to when I was fifteen. "Making out with Ben Cheney in the locker room."

"See? Not so bad," he says with a chuckle.

"What do you mean not so bad?" If this Jasper kid tries to make out with Alice I'm going to have to ban him from the house. The neighborhood. I wonder if I can get him to transfer schools somehow. He's only been there one day, after all.

"Edward, come on. You need to give the kid a chance. And I have a feeling that Alice will be pissed if you don't."

I sigh, thinking that although I don't want to admit it, Emmett might be right. I listen for a second, and notice that I no longer hear noises from the TV in the living room.

"Hold on a sec," I say, listening harder. Still, I hear nothing but Emmett's breathing. "I have to go, Emmett. They're being too quiet."

"What do you mean, they're being too quiet?" He asks.

"Who knows what they're up to!" I hiss.

"Edward…" he says with a sigh.

"I'll call you later, okay?"

Emmett reluctantly says goodbye and I hang up and walk quickly into the living room. Alice and Jasper are sitting next to the coffee table, textbooks spread out around them, peering over a piece of paper together.

Well, at least they aren't making out.

Alice looks up at me expectantly, raising an eyebrow.

"Where's Bella?" I ask, because I definitely don't like that they are alone.

"She said that we're boring and went to Jessica's house."

"Oh," I say, and peer over at the papers surrounding them. "What are you guys doing?" Jasper glances up at me for just a second, and then immediately back down.

Alice glares at me a little. "A biology project. We're partners, and we have a lot to get done this weekend."

"Oh." I stand there awkwardly for a moment and watch as they work. I'm really feeling silly right now so I turn to go back to my room when out of the corner of my eye I see Jasper reach over across Alice for a book, his hand conveniently brushing against her thigh. I freeze, and watch as Alice _blushes_ and Jasper ducks his head a little.

Oh hell no. Not under my roof.

I turn on my heel and march towards the couch, sit down, and grab a magazine off the side table.

"What are you doing, Edward?" Alice asks in disbelief.

"Reading a magazine," I answer as innocently as I can, and her jaw drops open.

This is going to be a long weekend.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen and dellaterra for betaing.**

* * *

**Emmett's POV**

Since the first time I woke up next to Edward I've thought that the very best way to wake up is with his face in my neck and his arm around my waist. Or with his back pressed against my chest and my legs wrapped around him.

I was wrong.

Wednesday morning I open my eyes and the first thing I see is Edward's ass. He's sitting on my chest and leaning over, my cock in his warm, wet mouth.

I make an unintelligible noise and he releases me, and then turns around to look at me.

"Morning," is all he says, and smiles that wicked crooked smile that I love.

"Morning," I pant out, and he leans back over and takes me in his mouth again.

I moan and watch him as he bobs up and down on my chest, and wiggles his ass in my face. I reach out with both hands and grab it, pulling him down against me. His tongue slowly circles the tip of my cock and I can't help but close my eyes for a second before forcing them open again. This is not a sight that I want to miss. I watch him for a moment and then my eyes land on the freckle on his right ass cheek. My freckle. I can't lean up to kiss it so I settle for rubbing circles over it with my thumb.

His mouth continues to work over me. Up, down, then circling around. I can feel myself getting close. It feels so good that I just want to thrash around but I can't move anywhere in this position. So I turn my head to the side and groan, and unfortunately my eyes land on the clock on the nightstand.

"Shit," I spit out, but it's not the good kind of cursing. Edward releases me again to turn around and look at me.

"What's wrong?" he asks, his brow furrowed in worry.

"It's late. We're late." I grumble. I want to throw that stupid alarm clock against the wall and make time stand still. It seems like we never have enough time.

He looks over at it and frowns. "Damn it."

"We've got to shower," I say reluctantly. I would suggest skipping it but we're already covered in enough sweat from last night.

"I'd rather do this," he pouts, and leans over again.

I groan in frustration. I'm trying to be the sensible one here. After all that he told me last night about his jerk of a boss and his situation with Felix at work, I don't want to get him into trouble.

"How about we do both?" I ask. He pauses for a moment before eagerly jumping off of me and running towards the bathroom. I'm not far behind.

"This better not be some ploy just to get me out of bed," he says with a glare, and I laugh. With the water running hot we step in beneath it. I kiss him hard, and his tongue meets mine, kissing me back deeply, hungrily. Speaking of hungry, it looks like we'll be skipping breakfast. That's okay; I would rather have this over breakfast any morning.

"You're going to be late," I say as I kiss his neck.

"Shut up," he says as he wraps his arms around me.

"Let me wash you." I'm still trying to be the responsible one. I lather a washcloth and start to rub the soapy cloth over his chest. He rubs his dick against mine.

"You're very horny this morning," I mutter grumpily. Normally I wouldn't complain, but now is not the time to think with our cocks. "Turn around."

He does as I ask and he leans against the wall, his palms against the shower wall. He sticks his ass out farther than necessary and I try to ignore it. I run the washcloth over his back but when I reach the top of his ass it's as if my hand has a mind of its own. I drop the washcloth and reach around to take Edward's cock in my hand.

"Yes," he whispers, and he knows that he's won.

"Fast," I warn, and begin to stroke him. He simply nods in response. My cock is aching at this point and I rub it against him, which is such a tease.

He's panting, and my soapy hand is doubling the pace of his breaths. I move up against him faster and faster, wanting nothing more than to enter him. God, I want to be inside of Edward more than anything.

He mumbles something that I can't understand and I ask him what he said.

"Want…" he groans. "Inside," he moans.

And that's it. I come hard against his back, the spray of the shower rinsing it off of him and down the drain.

"Emmett," he yells, and in my state of bliss it takes everything in me to focus on keeping my hand moving until he erupts against the shower wall. I stand still for a moment to catch my breath and then pull Edward towards me. He falls back into my arms, a lazy grin on his face. We stand still for a minute in the hot, steamy air and catch our breaths.

"We're late, Edward," I remind him, and he groans, but finally moves. We rinse off quickly, skipping the shampoo.

I step out and hand Edward a towel. His hair is dripping in his eyes and he has a satisfied grin on his face. I can't help but lean forward for a quick kiss.

We finish drying off and he walks naked to the closet, then hands me my underwear.

"Don't worry about me," I say as I take it from him. "You really need to get out of here."

"I should be fine if I hurry," he says as he pulls on a pair of navy boxer briefs. "Aren't you late too?"

I grin. "Yeah, but I'm the boss. I'm not late - everyone else is early."

He gives me a surprised look. "Kidding," I say. Sometimes it's fun just to see how Edward will react to things. He rolls his eyes and dresses, then races over to the sink to brush his teeth.

I watch him while we get ready and it dawns on me that I love this – our routine. Dinner together, getting ready in the morning, and all of the time that we spend naked in between. It hurts to know that he has a routine the rest of the week - one that he tells me about, but I'm not a part of. On one hand I love every second that we spend together in Seattle in this hotel room. On the other, I feel like it's keeping us from so much more.

"How do I look?" he asks as he finishes tying his tie.

His green eyes are wide with energy, his hair partially tamed, and to top it all off, he's in that dark grey suit that I love. He looks…amazing. I want to pull off parts of the suit and take him back to bed for the rest of the day.

Instead, I reach out and adjust the knot of his tie. "Perfect."

.~.~.~.

Unfortunately things go downhill after I say goodbye to Edward. I arrive at the Seattle office just in time for Victoria, the head of Property Management, to inform me that McCarty Sporting Goods will officially have to close the doors at its second location. The property owner refuses to negotiate an extension; he wants to knock down the entire property and build a large apartment complex.

It's definitely not a worst-case scenario –many employees will be able to fill spots at neighboring locations – but I can't help but feel as if I'm losing something more. That store meant a lot to my father, and to me. It was a huge step in what he was working for, and soon there will be nothing left of it.

I ask Victoria to come up with a recovery plan and present it to me next week. I need to know what our options are and analyze how it is that we're going to minimize any loss in profit.

It's a stressful and emotional day, and all that I want to do by the end of it is go back to the hotel with Edward or even better, bring him home with me. It would be new territory for us – we haven't seen each other in Portland outside of the airport. I consider what he will say to that as I walk up to the gate. Maybe if I'm lucky Alice will be busy tonight. Hope of him coming home with me blossoms and, although I know it's a long shot, I can't help but hang on to that. I could really use another night with Edward.

I look around the gate, not seeing him at first. I finally spot him, and he's standing in the corner and looking upset. Thoughts of what might be wrong race through my mind. What if Alice something happened to Alice? Or if Felix tried something? Despite Edward's reassurances, I don't believe for one second that Felix has moved on.

I walk up to him quickly, almost tripping over someone's bags on the way. "What is it? What's wrong?" I ask even before I reach him.

Edward shakes his head. "That was Mr. Banner. He called to chew me out over this morning. Ten minutes late! I was ten minutes late this morning and that prick reports it to my boss."

"What?" I ask. While I'm relieved that it doesn't seem to be anything too serious, I hate that I was right. Felix is most definitely not over this.

"He called my office today for who knows what, and he 'happened' to mention that I held everyone up this morning. He conveniently forgot to disclose the fact that half the people there were late because there was an car accident in town this morning."

Edward begins to pace back and forth, running his fingers through his hair. "Apologize my ass. What a jerk!"

I step in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. "Are you in a lot of trouble?"

He sighs and steps closer. "Not really. I just hate feeling like I have to really watch my back around that guy now. He's not going after me now; he's going after my job."

I grit my teeth in frustration. I'm so close to turning around to find Felix and give him a piece of my mind…and maybe a black eye. But I know that won't help Edward at all. The bottom line is that he can't lose his job.

Edward sighs and shakes his head. "I'm just going to have to be careful."

I know that I might be taking advantage of his foul mood, but I want so badly to convince him to come over to my place for the evening. "Can you come over today? I had a really rough day – we're going to lose that property after all – and I know that you have too. I just thought it would nice to spend some more time together…"

Edward frowns and takes my hand. "I'm sorry to hear that, Emmett. I know that store meant a lot to you." I wait for it, holding my breath even though I can already tell what he's going to say. "But I can't tonight."

I nod in acceptance, feeling completely deflated. "Okay."

He grimaces. "There's a meeting tonight at the high school. For Alice's class trip."

"Trip?"

"Yeah…" he says as he blushes a little, as if he hadn't meant to tell me that. "I was going to surprise you. Alice's community service club is helping to build a playground in an underprivileged community. She'll be gone all of next weekend." By the time he finishes he's grinning from ear to ear.

"So…she'll be gone all that time?" I ask as I pull him closer to me. "And you'll have the house to yourself?" He nods as my smile grows to match his.

"Sounds like you're going to be pretty bored," I say with a chuckle.

"Probably."

"Maybe you should take up a new hobby. Like scrap booking. Or knitting."

"Those are some good ideas," he says as he taps his chin. "I think you're onto something."

"Good. I wouldn't want you to be bored all weekend."

He pulls me to him and whispers in my ear. "I'm sure I'll find _something_ to do."

.~.~.~.

"Mom, I hate to tell you this, but it looks terrible."

I watch her as she grimaces, then throws her paintbrush back into the pan. Tiny splashes of yellow paint land on the plastic drop cloth surrounding it.

"It looks like Big Bird threw up, doesn't it?" she says with a sigh. "The grey paint was so… gloomy. I was hoping that the yellow would be more cheerful."

"Well, at least we only did one wall this time," I say as I start to clean up. "I'll come back later and cover the yellow up with primer, okay? Do you have another color you might want to try?"

"Not yet." She moves next to me and pats my back. "I'm sorry to make you move all the furniture around again, honey."

I stretch and make a face, as if I'm in pain. "It was a lot of work."

She smiles, knowing that I'm just giving her a hard time. "Hmm, well there's a chocolate cake downstairs with your name on it if that makes up for anything."

"Um, chocolate cake makes up for everything."

I hurry down the hallway, which is filled with framed pictures past the bedrooms and into the kitchen. I take my usual spot on a stool at the kitchen counter. This is how it's been for us since I was a teenager. Talks, trivial or not, were always done over a snack at the counter. Although back then I didn't appreciate our relationship nearly as much – I hadn't almost lost it.

"Why so sad?" she asks, and I look up to see a gigantic chocolate cake. I'm surprised that I didn't see it when I came in.

"I'm not," I say as I smile and lean in to dip my finger in the frosting.

She pretends not to notice.

"Actually, I'm really excited. Alice is going to be on a trip for a school club next weekend. Which means I get Edward all to myself."

"Really?" she smiles as she hands me a slice of cake and a fork. "Well aren't you lucky."

I take a bite and close my eyes. "Sooo good, Mom."

"Of course it is," she says as she takes her first bite. "So what's the plan?"

"I can't wait to see his place. But I want him at mine too. I have a whole list of things I've been wanting to do with him – " I stop when I see that she's frowning. "What?"

"Oh, well, I'm sure that whatever you'll do will be a lot of fun," she says with a shrug. "But…"

"But what?" I frown, wondering what she's getting at.

"Well, when's the next time the two of you are going to have that much time to spend together? And completely alone? Once you meet Alice you might not get that for a while. It seems a shame to hang around Portland all weekend." She raises her eyebrows and smirks. "Although you may not end up leaving the house for most of that time anyway."

I instantly feel my face flush; I hate it when she talks sex with me. But then I let her words sink in and I realize something.

My mother is a genius.

.~.~.~.

"How about Mexico?" Rose asks, and points to a website with several practically naked people in their mid-twenties holding margarita glasses.

I would love to see Edward lying in the sun on the beach, or dripping wet from a dip in the ocean. "Tempting," I say. "But it's too far for such a short trip."

I go back to my own laptop and scroll through another travel website. We've been at it for a few hours but we can't seem to find just the right place for me to take Edward for the weekend.

"How about Napa?" I hear a voice behind me snarl. "You two can feed each other grapes and discuss the qualities of fine wine."

I resist the urge to turn around and tell James to fuck off. I don't want to cause problems for Rose.

"Be nice, James," Rose says in a tone that is clearly meant to warn him. Then again, maybe if I cause problems he'll go away. Or maybe I'll end up leaving. With James it's always a battle of the wills. Whoever can stand the other longer is the one who doesn't leave.

"Yeah, yeah," James says sarcastically. "Actually, McCarty, I'm surprised you're even going away with your lover boy at all. Don't you want to finally see where your boyfriend lives?"

"Of course he does, James," Rose answers for me. "But he gets to see Edward all weekend – alone. They'll have plenty of time for weekends together in Portland once Edward introduces him to Alice."

"Oh, right. Like that's going to happen," James says with a snort.

I turn around abruptly. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means," he says with a sly smile. "That I don't think your little boyfriend has any intention of introducing you to his sister. In fact, I'm not so sure that this sister of his actually exists."

"What?" Rose and I yell in unison.

"I mean, what kind of proof do you even have? He's probably just using this sister thing as a cover up to only see you in Seattle."

"I've seen pictures," I growl, trying to keep my cool.

"Okay. So the sister exists. Who is to say that his parents are actually dead though? She probably lives with them and he makes up all this bullshit about taking care of her."

"What the hell is your problem, James?" I demand as I stand up, stretching to reach my full height in front of him.

James looks up at me and holds his hands up in mock surrender. "All I'm saying is that you're missing something really obvious here, McCarty."

"And what is that exactly?"

"That you're the _other woman_," he says with a smirk. "The guy is obviously cheating on you. Just like Peter did."

My arm is pulled back before I know it, but it's held down before I can make contact with James's face. I look over and see Rose yanking at my arm and glaring at James.

"Get the hell out of here, James," she spits out.

"Rose, baby," he says with a contrite expression, "I'm just trying to help the guy out."

"Out. Now." Rose lets go of my arm and I lower my arm to my side.

"Whatever," James mutters, and grabs his jacket off the couch before stomping to the door and slamming it shut behind him.

I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself.

"Sorry, Em," she mumbles, and puts her arms around me.

"Your boyfriend is an asshole." I don't even try to be nice about it. She has got to see this by now.

"Yeah… Well, let me deal with him. He'll be sorry, that's for sure." She sits down again and pats the seat next to her. "Let me make it up to you?"

I shake my head, but sit anyway. "And how are you going to do that?"

"Think of the perfect getaway for you and Edward, that's how," she says with her megawatt smile that she knows I can't resist.

I smirk. "Well, get thinking. Because so far we have nothing."

"Oh, I will."

We're sitting there for not more than three minutes when suddenly Rose shrieks loudly, almost breaking my eardrum.

"What?" I ask, rubbing my ear.

She smiles victoriously. "I know just the place."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen and dellaterra for betaing.**

* * *

**Emmett's POV**

James is an idiot. I shouldn't listen to anything he says. I know this. I've known this since the first minute Rose first introduced him to me. I could see his arrogance, his attitude, and his stupid smirk. Unfortunately I saw all of this before Rose did. She was coming off a hard breakup and only saw his deep blue eyes and his perfect smile. She fell for every line he fed her, accepted every drink he bought her. If I had thought he was going to be anything more than a rebound I would have thrown her over my shoulder and carried her out of that stupid bar.

Only I didn't; I thought that she should have her fun, have a distraction, and here I am on a Tuesday afternoon doodling _James = Idiot_ on my notepad instead of listening to Victoria update me on the new property issue.

I shake my head and force myself to listen.

"So in conclusion, given the current economy and market conditions, my recommendation would be to purchase the smaller of the available properties," Victoria says over the speakerphone. I watch out of the corner of my eye as Angela diligently takes notes on a legal pad from a chair across my desk.

"Sounds reasonable," I say with another glance at the documents that Victoria emailed over this morning. "We'll talk about this in more detail tomorrow when I get to the office. Book something with Angela for the afternoon."

"See you tomorrow," Victoria says before hanging up.

Angela makes another note before looking up at me. She seems lost in thought.

I lean back further into my chair. "So what do _you_ think?"

She cocks her head to the side, surprised. "About what?"

"About our replacement location; which property sounds best?"

"Oh, um," Angela mumbles, and furrows her brow. "Well, honestly, I like the larger of the two."

"And why is that?"

"Well," she starts off cautiously, and adjusts her glasses. "I just think that so much more could be done with it."

"What do you mean?" I ask as I lean forward, placing my elbows on the desk.

"There is so much more space to... well..." she mutters as she bites her lip nervously.

"Don't be scared, Angela. I want to know what you think." The two of us have always had an easygoing relationship, despite the fact that we're close in age and she is my employee.

"Well, here." She leans forward and opens her notebook. Clearly, Angela was paying a lot more attention than I was during the conference call.

"Wow," I say, as I take in all of her notes and a few sketches. "What is all this?"

"Um, well, that's a putting green so customers can test out the clubs. And over here is a batting cage. Oh, and a track where people can test out bicycles. Also, I was thinking an arena for rollerblading lessons… Oh, and over here I was thinking about a movie area. We could play movies like Field of Dreams and A League of Their Own throughout the day so that people could have something to do while their families shopped…"

I take it all in for a minute.

"Angela…." I say, and look up at her intently, "this isn't a retail store."

She blushes and reaches down for her notebook. "You're right, sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."

I reach forward, pulling the notebook closer to me instead, scanning over her notes again. "This," I say as I wave my hand over it, "is a sporting goods _experience_."

I can't help but smile. Big.

She freezes, and then her smile matches mine. "You like it?"

"I love it," I say as I push the notebook back to her. And then, with another grin. "Show me what else you got."

.~.~.~.

Edward hits the elevator button impatiently, then returns his hand to mine. "Looks like we've got an audience," I say as I look over Edward's shoulder at the two girls working the front desk who are staring at us. He doesn't seem to hear me or maybe he's just choosing to ignore me. He seems much more focused on rubbing his hard on against my leg.

The elevator door opens and Edward all but pushes me inside.

Unfortunately, we're not alone. A hotel employee is already in there with a large room service cart. I press my back up against the wall and Edward does the same.

I look over at Edward as he inches closer to me. Then I look back over to the employee. It's the young blonde girl, the one who delivered my sundae my first night at the hotel. Her eyes meet mine and she smiles. Then she glances over at Edward. She looks back and forth between the two of us, her eyes wide, and a blush creeps over her face before she quickly looks down, suddenly intent on staring at her shoes. Strange.

It's a long eight floors. A few times I have to swat Edward's hand away from my…thigh. Finally, the doors open and we rush out. Edward pulls me down the hallway to our room.

"Someone's excited," I say with a grin. I love horny Edward. But tonight…I'm not sure if we're on the same page.

It began with a look. A _look_. Edward eyefucked me over a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. Then came the touching. A brush of his hand here, a squeeze on my thigh there. And then the kissing. He stole a kiss every chance he could. Our waitress was so annoyed she didn't even offer us dessert. And in the cab…well, I'm surprised the driver didn't kick us out.

As soon as the door shuts behind us he pulls me close and kisses me. It's deep, and his tongue is in my mouth as he moans. His hands are in my hair, and then he trails them to my collar, pausing for a moment before he begins to undo the buttons.

I pull away a little, not sure what to do.

"What's wrong?" he asks, breathing heavily.

"Nothing," I mumble.

He gives me a strange look, then continues unbuttoning my shirt.

I just stand there stupidly. It's not that I don't want us to get naked. I _really_ want to get Edward naked. It's just that tonight, it's clear what he's thinking - and it's not about my dick in his mouth.

Fuck. This is not the plan. Not tonight anyway.

I _do_ have a plan. A pretty good one, actually. Everything is ready for this weekend. I've made all the arrangements. Call me cheesy, but I want our first time to be something special. Something that we'll always remember.

And now I just need to make sure that I don't give in to temptation and have sex with Edward before then. Which, as Edward starts unbuttoning his own shirt, is much easier said than done.

His shirt falls to the floor and he looks up at me with a sexy little smirk. Then he reaches for the waist of my pants and pulls me up against him. My arms wrap around him and my mouth meets his. Before I know it my hands are on his ass. His sweet, firm ass.

And his tongue is in my mouth.

And his cock. Well, his cock is hard, and pushing against my leg.

No. Bad Emmett.

Must keep clothes on. Once they're off I have no hope of sticking with my plan. My cock will not be able to resist Edward, not with him so willing.

And then I remember the condoms.

Perfect. I begin undressing him with renewed vigor, reaching greedily for his belt buckle, and Edward laughs.

"Excited?"

"Mmm," is all I manage, kissing along his neck while we go back to stripping off our clothes.

I pull him close to me, so happy that I purposefully _didn't_ pack any condoms for this very reason. I didn't even want to be tempted to ruin the plans I made for us. So even if he wants to, if _I_ want to…sex is out of the question tonight.

The instant that we're naked he reaches for my cock and wraps his hand around me firmly. I'm so hard. I've been hard since Edward began eyefucking me in the restaurant. He begins to stroke me slowly, a huge smile on his face.

"I've been thinking about this all day. All week," he says.

"Thinking about what?" I ask, even though it's obvious what he means. I want to hear him say it, to know that he's ready. And then I want him to wait. Fuck, it doesn't sound very reasonable, even to me, and I'm the one with the stupid plan.

He smiles slowly, and leans closer. "You," he whispers against my lips. "Fucking," He presses his hips closer to mine. "Me."

I moan. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. He wants it. I want it. Why aren't I inside of him yet? Oh, right. My plan.

I'm not sure what to do. All I can think about is getting Edward on his back. So instead I drop to my knees. He leans back against the wall as I take him in my mouth, and with long and slow strokes of my tongue, I go as deep around him as I can.

"Emmett."

I don't stop. Maybe we won't even make it to the bed and he'll forget about having sex.

"Emmett," he moans, louder this time, and hits the wall behind him with his fists.

I reach up and cup his ass with both hands. His hands go to my hair and he starts to move his hips a little.

He gasps for air, and then quietly, he says, "Stop."

I pull away from him, then look up into his eyes. He looks down at me, and his hair falls into his face a little. His eyes are half closed, and he's shaking a little.

"Bed," he pants. He pushes away from the wall and walks across the room. I follow, and I can't stop staring at his ass. He goes to sit on the edge of the bed and when I reach him, I lean down to kiss him.

Our tongues are wrapped around each other, so as he leans back, I follow. Next thing I know I'm on top of him, one knee on each side of him, his arms around my neck. We kiss, and it's all tongue and soft fingertips and loud moans until he pulls away.

"Hold on," he murmurs, and sits back up. I sit and watch as he leans over the edge of the bed to his bag. When he turns around and I see what's in his hand, I freeze.

"What's that?" I ask stupidly.

"Um, a condom?" he laughs, and leans forward to kiss me. "And lube," he adds, like it's a dirty word.

A condom. He _had_ to bring a condom. So now I have naked Edwardright in front of me, holding a condom.

I take a deep breath. And then another. I can do this. A few more days. I can wait a few more days. And then I can have Edward over and over again.

Just then he reaches around my neck and pulls me back down on top of him, and our cocks are touching. My hips begin moving without my permission.

And then Edward wraps his legs around my waist.

Fuck. That's it. I can't do this anymore.

I kiss him – hard. He pulls me even closer, his strong thighs holding me tight. His hands run up and down my back, and my fingers are in his hair.

"Are you sure?" I ask between kisses along his jaw. "We don't have to do this."

"I'm so sure, Emmett," he says, and I kiss him one more time before sitting up and taking the bottle of lube from him.

I coat my fingers with the lube and then move to lay down on my side. Edward rolls over to face me and hitches his leg up over my hip. I pull him close, until his chest is touching mine. I can feel his erection against my own and the wetness of pre-cum against my stomach. We kiss softly, and I reach around behind him. Slowly, I push one finger inside of him, and he moans. I pull it out, then in again, repeating the movement over and over again until Edward whispers, "Another." I comply and repeat the motion, a little deeper each time.

We kiss slowly until he pulls away from me, breathing hard. For a second I see fear in his eyes, as if it's just occurred to him what we're about to do. I immediately stop what I'm doing. "Hey...are you okay?"

He nods, but looks down.

"What is it?"

"It's just that it's been a really long time since..." he mumbles quietly, and I stiffen. Maybe this isn't the right time after all. But then, as if he senses my hesitation, his eyes snap back up to mine. "But I want to. It's just been...a while."

"I know," I whisper, and lean in to kiss him.

He rolls over onto his back and spread his legs. I sit up and open the condom package, then roll it on. I grab the bottle of lube again and coat my cock with it with long, hard strokes. Edward bites his lip, still watching my every move. I lean over, all the way, so that I'm between his legs and my lips meet his. Before I can even ask again if he's sure, he whispers, "Yes."

I ease into him. Slowly. He's so tight I'm scared that I'm going to hurt him. My heart is pounding in my chest and I can feel myself break out into a sweat. But oh my fuck Edward feels amazing. His eyes are locked on mine and mine are locked on his and this is the closest thing to an out-of-body experience I've ever had. As I feel my hips meet his ass, he lets out one long groan and closes his eyes.

"Are you…," I say, and then take in a deep breath, "all right?"

He nods and opens his eyes, then brings his hands up to my face, then down to my shoulders. I begin moving again, slowly, feeling every bit of him that is wrapped so tightly around me. His hands continue their journey down my arms until they rest over my own on the bed. I keep moving. One breath for each time I push in. Another for each time I pull out. I try to keep my pace even but it's so hard when he's looking at me like _that_. As if he is completely consumed in this moment, in me. As if this is exactly what he wants, what he needs. My heart is pounding so loudly I can't even hear my breaths anymore but I know they're coming more quickly, just as I know that my hips aren't listening to my brain.

I pull my hands out from under his and he frowns for just a second until I sit back and reach down to pull his legs up higher around me. I lean down again, this time on my elbows, and move one around under neck, and the other into his hair. His reaches around me, pulling me closer if that's even possible. My hips keep thrusting faster and faster, and fuck me I'm getting close. I can feel it creeping up on me, but I don't want to come yet. I want this to last forever - or at least until Edward comes. I move to sit up again, trying to change positions and hold off my orgasm. But Edward doesn't let me. He pulls me tighter against him and kisses me hard. I can barely breathe. There is no oxygen left in my brain and all of my blood has gone to my cock and I'm such a mess that I'm surprised that my hips are still moving.

Edward moans into my mouth, and I need to break the kiss just so I can get some air. His cock is between us and I can't reach it. I want so badly to move away so that I can take him in my hand and make him come because I'm going to come any fucking second now. Again, he won't let me. He keeps me close and I give in, falling into him so that my face is buried in the pillow. I concentrate on my thrusts, making sure that they are long and deep, giving him as much pleasure as I can. His fingernails are digging into my back. I don't care. His hand is pulling at my hair. I don't care. All I care about is making Edward come.

_Please. _I want to beg, but I manage to hold in it. I think.

"Edward," I call out loud, and this time I know for sure because he yells out my name in return.

"I'm coming," he yells, although it isn't much of a warning. I feel his ass clenching around me and his cock twitching between us and I'm right there with him, coming so hard that I swear I can't feel my arms and legs anymore. It is…beyond words. I hold myself up as long as I can, and somehow I find the energy to not collapse completely on top of him, falling to my side instead so that only half of me is holding him down.

His eyes are shut and he's panting. He reaches out blindly and finds my hand, threading his fingers through mine.

"Emmett, that was…" he turns to face me and opens his eyes.

"Yeah," is my intelligent answer. I can't think of anything else to say. My mind is hazy with all the words that usually float around in my head when I'm with Edward, this time louder than normal.

You. Amazing. Me. Together. Perfect.

Only this time there is another word.

My chest suddenly aches and my stomach twists and it hits me so hard that I stop breathing altogether.

"Hey," Edward furrows his brow and looks at me with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I repeat, and take a deep breath. Yeah.

"You sure?"

I hum my reply and lean over to kiss him. It's a soft kiss; we're both spent. I melt into it and kiss him until I pull away and he's the one gasping for air.

"You okay?" I ask as I stare down into his flushed face. He looks up at me and I can't read his expression at all.

"Yeah," he whispers.

.~.~.~.

**Edward's POV**

I stand by the window of the conference room staring out over the city. There's so much I should be doing right now, but I can't seem to focus. Last night with Emmett was exhausting – in more ways than one. I'm not sure if I've fully processed everything that happened. Sex with Emmett was…amazing. No…even that doesn't seem like the way to describe it. I'm not sure if the right word even exists. And the way he looked at me…it was almost too much.

I slept well - when I actually slept. After we showered and crawled back into bed, Emmett fell asleep right away. But I couldn't. There was too much to think about, and so much that I felt I just _couldn't_ think about. Instead I watched Emmett. He was fast asleep - _smiling_. Who smiles in their sleep? Apparently Emmett does. He looked so peaceful. I tried for hours to fall sleep and when I finally did, I slept through the alarm _and_ the wake up call. Luckily Emmett woke me up and dragged me out of bed.

"Good morning, Edward."

I hear a voice behind me, and I immediately know who it is. I turn around.

"Morning, Felix."

Felix leans against the frame of the door, keeping his distance. "Edward, you look tired. Distracted."

"I'm fine. It's early. I need some coffee, that's all."

He hums his response and takes a few steps forward. "Did you get my email yesterday? I'm sure that you've drawn up everything for my new ideas for the lobby, right?"

"Of course," I say, as if it's no big deal, in reality I had spent my entire day drawing up sketches of his stupid ideas. I almost missed my flight trying to get it all done. He smirks as if he knows that it was, in fact, a big deal.

"Excellent. So glad that I can count on you to be so…_professional_."

So that's his game. This time I can't help but narrow my eyes at him. What. An. Ass.

Just then Rebecca walks into the room. She stops short and looks back and forth between us as Felix and I stare each other down, me with anger and him with smug satisfaction.

"Um, I just, um," Rebecca stutters pushes up her glasses, looking as if she wants to disappear. "Coffee. Would you like some coffee, Mr. Cullen?"

I finally look away from Felix and try to give her a pleasant smile. "Coffee would be great, Rebecca. Thank you."

Felix ignores Rebecca, but gives me one final smirk before turning around and leaving the room. I sigh and get back to work, anxious to set up for the meeting and get today over with. A minute later I look up and realize that Rebecca is still standing there.

She eyes me warily. "Is everything all right, Mr. Cullen?"

I'm sure that she's referring to Felix. Great. Just what I need – more attention focused on this shitty situation. I sigh and run my fingers through my hair. "I'm fine, Rebecca. Thanks for asking."

She purses her lips as if she doesn't believe me. She shakes her head, but asks, "Cream…no sugar?"

"Yes, thank you." I try my best to give her a reassuring smile, which she returns, but as she turns to leave it's clear she doesn't believe me.

.~.~.~.

"Are you sure you have everything?" I glance down at Alice's duffle and frown. It looks half empty. I thought girls were notorious for overpacking. Then again, this is Alice.

"I'm sure. A few t-shirts, underwear, and my toothbrush. What else could I need?" She shrugs as she zips the bag up. There is a honk outside and Alice rushes to shove her cell phone in her pocket and grabs her jacket.

I pick up her duffle and we walk outside to where Charlie's police cruiser is waiting in the cul-de-sac. Bella immediately rolls down her window and sticks out her head. "Oh my God, Edward can you _please_ drive us to school? This is _so_ embarrassing!"

I feel bad, but I can't help but laugh a little. Bella has always been embarrassed to be seen in the cruiser.

"Leave Edward alone, Bella. I'm on my way to the station. There's no reason I can't drop you girls off," Charlie says as he rolls his eyes. He pops the trunk for us. Inside there are two large suitcases. Typical Bella.

I throw Alice's bag in the trunk and pull her into a hug.

"Be good, all right?" I whisper into her hair.

"Of course," she says, and I can tell that she's rolling her eyes. She leans back and looks up at me, concerned. "Edward, are you going to be okay? What are you going to do all weekend?"

"Um, not too much. Just hang around I guess," I say. It's the truth, pretty much. I'll just be hanging out at Emmett's place.

"Okay," she says with a small smile. "Have fun."

One last hug and she climbs into the cruiser. I stand there for a minute and watch as they drive off. I feel kind of pathetic because I miss her already.

I head back in to the house, which seems much too quiet. I pull my own suitcase from the closet and finish throwing the rest of what I need in there. I'm really not sure how much time Emmett and I are going to spend here or at his place. I figure I might as well be prepared. Then again, after this week…we may not even leave his apartment at all. I can't help but smile to myself at the thought.

My phone rings and I answer it quickly.

"Edward, I have bad news."

My heart sinks at his words. Something must have come up and he needs to cancel. Damn it, I was so looking forward to this weekend. But before I can say anything Emmett continues.

"I'm kidnapping you. You're spending the weekend with me; I don't care how annoying I am."

I sigh, relieved that he is just joking. I swear, sometimes I think Emmett says things just to see how I'll react. Regardless, my mood lifts instantly.

"Damn it," I try to sound serious, but even I can hear the smile in my voice. "I was really looking forward to a weekend alone. You know, so I can knit."

"Too bad. You're gonna have to put away those knitting needles 'cause I'm about to pull up to your house."

I harrumph loudly. "Fine. I guess if I have to," I say with a chuckle. "See you in a minute."

I hang up and take a final look around the house, then step outside to lock up as I hear his car pull up behind me. When I turn around I see Emmett sitting in a black SUV. He looks at me and smiles, then looks behind me at the house. He has a strange, almost sad, expression on his face as his eyes roam over the two stories, the blue shutters, and the small front yard.

I open the back door and shove my bag in before slamming the door. He watches me as I climb into the passenger seat, a small smile on his face.

"Are you okay?" I ask, and he nods.

"I'm more than okay. I've never been so happy to be committing a felony," he says with another small smile. With one final glance back at the house he quickly turns the car around.

"In a hurry?"

He laughs, this time with a real Emmett smile. "Yeah, so buckle up. We've got…reservations. Oh, and close your eyes."

I cock a brow at him. "Seriously? Are you taking me to some sort of super secret restaurant for dinner?"

He chuckles and takes a quick glance in my direction. "Don't make me take off my tie and use it on you."

"Okay, fine." I close my eyes and lean back against the seat.

"No peeking."

"Okay, okay. No peeking."

He drives and I talk and eventually I can hear us pull up into what must be a parking structure. I hear a buzz as he rolls down his window to take a ticket.

"Not yet," he warns me before I can ask. I can feel him driving around for a while until he finally pulls into a spot.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now."

I open my eyes and look around. Everything looks very familiar. Finally, I turn to him in confusion.

"Emmett, are we at the airport?"

"Yup."

"Are we flying somewhere?"

"Yup."

I stare at him in shock and shake my head. "Where are we going?"

He smiles his big, perfect, Emmett grin. "Vegas, baby."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen and dellaterra for betaing.**

* * *

**Emmett's POV**

"Vegas?"

"Vegas," I confirm with a laugh. Edward's mouth is literally hanging open. "Have you ever been before?"

"Um, no. I was supposed to, but the year I turned 21 was when…" He shakes his head. "No. I've never been."

"Well, I think it's about time," I say and Edward nods stiffly but doesn't move.

I watch him for a minute, wondering if he really doesn't want to go or if he just needs a moment to process this. Maybe this is too much too soon. I'm just about to tell him never mind when he looks into my eyes and says, "Emmett, you're amazing, do you know that?"

I don't answer. I simply lean in and kiss him. He falls into me and then pulls me closer. At the moment I want nothing more than to keep kissing him and forgot about anything and everything else. Reluctantly, I pull away.

"We've got a flight to catch."

He nods enthusiastically and we climb out of the car. He grabs his bag from the backseat while I get mine from the trunk. We make our way to airport security, and I can't help but steal glances at him as we walk. It's easy to see that Edward is excited. He can't seem to stop smiling.

When we get to Security and he prepares his things for the x-rays I watch him. Nothing seems to have changed since that first day I saw Edward. He still has the dark bronze hair that I love to run my fingers through, the full lips that I love to kiss. He's still my Mr. Serious, but there is one thing that is different. His eyes, those beautiful green eyes, have a little less sadness and more of something new. I think… I hope… it's happiness.

He looks over at me with a curious expression.

"What are you looking at?"

"Just you."

"Weirdo," he says as he smiles and shakes his head, then pushes his bag onto the conveyor belt.

We're sitting at the gate waiting to board when he reaches over and takes my hand. I stare at it, remembering so clearly that first night after I saw Edward, the dream I had. I feel my lips curl into a smile.

"What?" Edward asks with a laugh.

"Nothing."

He laughs again. "Like I said, weirdo."

Then he leans in and kisses me.

I sit there in my happy Edward bubble until the airline announces the boarding of first-class passengers.

"This is us," I say as I stand.

"First class?" he asks as he checks his ticket.

I was worried about this. Money is the last thing I want Edward to think about. I may not be the Bill Gates of sporting equipment, but I'm a single man who probably makes a lot more money than he does.

"Hey, I've got it covered, okay? Just relax," I say as I pull him up from his seat.

"But…"

"Edward, I'm taking care of everything on this trip. I haven't been on a vacation in three years. Believe me, I'm long overdue for this. The fact that I get to do this with you just makes it all the better."

He smiles warily as he follows me on to the plane.

We settle into our seats and the flight attendant comes by to see if we want anything to drink.

We both order something, and finally, drink in hand, I see Edward begin to relax again. When we're in the air Edward puts up the armrest between us and grumbles when it still sticks out some.

"Problem?" I ask with a chuckle.

"Yeah. I'm over here, but I really want to be over there."

"I think that may be against safety regulations," I tease.

He grumbles but settles for holding my hand.

The flight attendant walks by again and I ask her to bring us some more drinks.

"Trying to get me drunk?" Edward asks with a smirk.

"Were you planning on doing Vegas any other way?"

"I guess you have a point," he says with a laugh, then takes another sip.

We descend into Las Vegas on schedule and I smile as I watch Edward's eyes go wide at the sight of Las Vegas Boulevard. This is most definitely not the same view you get as when you land in Portland, or even Seattle. Hotels on the strip fight with each other for attention – all mirrored glass, flashing signs, and bright lights. Several people on the flight cheer as we touch down on the ground. It sounds like we aren't the only ones ready to begin a weekend in Vegas.

It's tough to get a cab at the airport on a Friday night, but we get lucky and thirty minutes later we're driving up the crowded street in front of the Bellagio. Edward's jaw drops at the sight of the large fountain in front of the hotel. We've arrived in the middle of a show so there are a lot of people gathered around on the sidewalk, watching as the fountain engages in an elaborate dance. Water shoots gracefully up and down, back and forth, in time with Frank Sinatra's _Luck Be A Lady_ playing over the loudspeakers. The fountain is loud, like thunder in a storm, each jet of water crashing into others and reflecting the lights.

The driver brings us to the hotel entrance and Edward gives me a look that says _Really? We're staying here? _I just grab his hand and pull him out to the curb. As we walk through the lobby Edward looks entranced. Even though I've never stayed here, I've seen the lobby of the Bellagio before. To say that it's impressive is an understatement. It is huge, and the ceiling above the reception area is covered in thousands of hand-blown glass flowers of every imaginable color. Edward looks up and around us constantly, checking out everything.

At the counter I tell the woman behind the front desk my name and hand her my credit card. Checking in at a hotel with Edward is a familiar routine, but this time it's also so different. This time I will have him all to myself. I won't have to say good-bye to him in the morning, I don't have to share him with his work, and most importantly, I don't have to think about how he'll be spending the next day with Felix. In fact, I'm hoping that Felix's name doesn't come up once this whole weekend. The last thing I want to think about is someone trying to steal Edward away from me.

After a few clicks the clerk smiles and says, "Your room is ready, Mr. McCarty. Oh, and everything is _just_ as you requested it." She winks, then hands me the key cards.

Oh, right. I forgot about that.

"What is she talking about?" Edward asks as we make our way to the elevators.

I mumble something and try to distract him by pointing out some of the gardens as we pass by. I lead him to the elevators and he can't stop talking about how amazing everything looks and how he can't believe that we're staying here. Which is exactly the kind of reaction I was hoping for. Edward would never do anything like this for himself. So I'm going to do it for him.

We get to our room and the second I open the door Edward freezes. Slowly he walks to the far end of the room and stands in front of the large panoramic window overlooking Las Vegas Boulevard. Another fountain performance has begun, and the TV in the room plays the same music as outside. Bursts of water are flying everywhere in time to the classical music.

He doesn't say anything. He just stands there, staring. I stand next to him and watch his face, waiting for a clue of what he thinks.

Finally, he speaks. "This is incredible," he says, and then looks at me and smiles.

"I thought you might like it."

He nods, then turns to look around the room. My eyes search his face as he takes in the large vase of flowers in the corner of the room, and the candles lit on the table, the rose petals on the bed.

"Wow. Look at all this… Do they always do this…?" He stops, and I watch as he puts the pieces together. "Oh."

I shrug. "I just thought that... Well, I thought that tonight would be our first time. I wanted it to be special."

He reaches down and picks some petals up off the bed. "Emmett. This is..." My heart stops for a second. Maybe he hates it. Maybe it's a good thing we didn't wait until tonight. "_so_ cheesy," he finishes with a grin.

"I told you I'm cheesy," I say with a laugh.

"I love it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he whispers and takes my hand. "Although I wouldn't have changed anything about the other night. Not one moment."

"Me either."

He steps closer to me and I tilt my head to lean in for a kiss, and his lips meet mine. We kiss for a few minutes, arms wrapped around each other, and when the music from the fountain ends I pull away.

"So what do you want to do first?" I ask. "Dinner? Gambling? A show?" I ask teasingly.

"Hmmm." Is his only response. Well, not his _only_ response.

I pull him closer, so that I can feel every part of him against me.

"I know one show I would like to see," he says as he reaches between us for my belt.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"And we don't even have to go anywhere." He finishes with my belt and reaches for my zipper.

I can feel my breaths quicken and my cock harden. I can't believe it's only been three days since we were last together. It feels like weeks. Months.

"Edward, fuck."

"What?" he asks, and teasingly runs the tips of his fingers under the waistband of my underwear.

"I fucking want you," I say. "So bad."

He smiles, then reaches for my briefs and pushes them down with my pants. I'm standing there half naked and so fucking hard. He wraps his hand around me and I groan.

"Take off your shirt," he says.

I can't help but chuckle. "Bossy aren't you?"

"Can you blame me? I haven't seen your abs in days."

I laugh, but do as he asks. When my shirt falls to the floor he runs one hand over my chest then down to my stomach, the whole time stroking me with the other.

"Is it weird that I missed your abs?" he whispers.

"No. I've missed every part of you," I say as I reach down and grab his ass through his jeans. "Especially this part."

He closes his eyes, his fingers still running up and down my torso. "I jack off thinking about them," he whispers, as if it's a confession. "In the shower. I imagine that I'm riding your cock. You're moaning underneath me and so fucking hard inside of me. And we fuck so hard until I'm coming all over your stomach."

"Fuck, Edward. That's so hot," I mumble, incoherent at the thought and at the feeling of his hand on me.

"Yeah?" he asks as if he isn't sure I mean it.

"Do I need to show you how hot I think that is?"

He looks up at me and smiles. "Yes, please."

I swear I've never undressed Edward so fast. His clothes are gone in seconds, and we're falling back onto the bed, finally both completely naked.

I'm on top of him, straddling him, kissing him every place I can reach. His hand is on my cock again, and it feels so good. So fucking good.

"Condom, Emmett. Please get a condom," he begs, and I force myself to move away. I run over to our bags and dig around in mine until I find the condoms and lube.

When I turn around I see Edward, his legs spread, stroking himself with quick movements, his eyes half closed.

"Emmett," he moans and I'm up there with him in the next instant.

I rip open the condom package and roll it on, then reach for the lube and spread some on my fingers. "Hurry," Edward says, and I lean over and kiss him while I prepare him. It's not long before he's whimpering.

"Emmett, now. Please."

He sits up and I lay down, then I spread some more lube over my cock. Edward moves to straddle me, and as he does, his cock grazes my lips. I lick the pre-cum he's left behind from my lips and I can't help but moan. I'm not sure if Edward notices. He seems so hurried, yet so focused. He hovers over me for a moment and reaches down to grip the base of my cock as we both guide me slowly into him.

The noises coming out of Edward's mouth are unreal. Moans between quick breaths followed by more moans. He moves up and down, his eyes half closed, his cock bouncing freely.

"Is this what you wanted, Edward?" I ask as I reach for his ass, gripping it firmly.

"Yes," he gasps and looks into my eyes. "So good, Emmett."

Just hearing him say that sends a new wave of pleasure through me. I want so badly to give him what he wants. I _need_ to.

I watch as he quickens his pace and listen as his breathing gets faster. Over and over again he pushes down onto me. Each time feels better than the last. He takes his cock in one hand and he falls forward so that he's leaning on the other. I take over, thrusting up into him again and again. Everything is happening so fast but it's so intense and it feels so good.

He's watching me, staring into my eyes. He licks his lips and I lean up for a quick kiss. We groan into each others' mouths before I fall back again, moving harder and faster than before. He looks away from my face and down between us. He moans loudly and his hand moves faster.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he calls out, and I watch as he comes all over me, streams of his come pooling on my stomach, some reaching my chest. With one final moan and one last thrust I feel my orgasm pulse through me until I fall back onto the bed.

"Oh my God," Edward says breathlessly. "So good, so good."

I can't help but smile. Edward like this – moaning, mumbling, and satisfied – is exactly what I wanted. A part of me sighs in relief.

He leans down again and says things that I can't understand because his lips are against my neck, and then his tongue is in my mouth. He kisses me hard before pulling away.

"Shower?" I ask between gasp of air.

He nods and, with one final look at me covered in his come, he climbs off of me.

Twenty minutes later we're both clean and dressed for a night out. Edward is wearing jeans and a dark blazer over a blue dress shirt with the top buttons undone, showing the top of his chest. He looks delicious; I swear I could fuck him again right now. But then we would probably end up staying locked in this room all weekend. And I want Edward to have some fun. Fun that actually involves wearing clothes.

"How about this? Dinner, then we walk around the strip for a while, then we do some gambling?"

Edward nods excitedly, looking like a little kid. "I still can't believe we're here."

I laugh and as I pull the door shut behind us. "Vegas, here we come."

Edward talks nonstop all through dinner. He doesn't mention work at all; instead he tells me about the vacations he used to go on when he was growing up. His dad was into fishing so he went on a lot of father-son trips to lakes in the area.

"How cute," I tease. "I can just see you in those plastic pant things casting out on the water. "Did you ever catch anything good?"

"No," he says with a laugh. "I didn't. I'm terrible at it. I don't ever go now, but at least the experience gives me something to talk to Charlie about."

"So what was your last vacation then?"

"Disneyland. I took Alice and Bella for a few days around their Twelfth

birthdays. I guess it's a good thing too. I think they might be getting too old for that now," he says with a frown.

"Nah, you're never too old for Disneyland," I assure him, but he seems distracted at the thought.

"Ready to go?" I ask, not wanting him to dwell on it for too long.

"You don't want dessert?" he asks with a smile.

"I already had it," I say with a wink, loving the way he blushes in response.

The Strip is busy. People are packed in, yelling and laughing. Most of the girls aren't wearing much clothing. Despite the fact that it's still pretty early for a night in Vegas, I see groups of people, drunk already, stumbling along the sidewalk. We walk down to Treasure Island and watch as the cast puts on a show in the front of the hotel. Canons explode and fireworks go off as pirates swing around on ropes above a ship and make innuendos at the barely dressed sirens down below. Everyone claps as the show ends, and we walk off to find something else to see. We decide to walk down the other side of the strip towards Planet Hollywood.

Everywhere we look there are signs for Vegas shows and events. Every surface is a place to advertise in Vegas. Along the way there must be at least 20 different people who try to hand us flyers with naked girls on them.

Edward mistakenly grabs one and makes a face when he sees the topless girl holding a phone to her ear and asking you to call the 800 number. The expression on his face is hilarious.

"There are far too many breasts in Vegas," he says as he shakes his head and tosses the flyer in a nearby trashcan.

I hear loud music nearby and realize that we're standing near the tent that holds an all-night dance party right off the strip. I imagine Edward dancing and grinding against me. I like it.

"Wanna go dance?"

He looks at me like I've lost my mind. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Because I'm too sober, that's why not," he says as he takes a peek into the tent. The dance floor is full of people, each one with a drink in hand, as the song changes from fast to faster. "Yeah, definitely too sober for that."

"Well, I can fix that," I say with a wink.

We keep walking down the strip and cross over to the Monte Carlo. Inside the sounds of the strip are kept out and replaced with the sounds of slot machines and top 40 songs. Girls in sparkly bras and mini skirts dancing on small stages between the card tables. Edward is right. There are way too many breasts in Vegas.

"Poker or blackjack?"

"Blackjack," he says and we find a table with two spots open next to each other.

I throw a few hundreds down on the table and Edward begins to protest. "Don't," I insist before he can say anything else.

He rolls his eyes but says thank you and squeezes my leg under the table. A waitress wearing a corset, hot pants, and tights comes by to take our drink orders. We both order a beer and the dealer hands us our chips.

We play a few hands and while I only win a few, Edward is on a roll. He looks downright giddy as he wins hand after hand. I cheer him along and a crowd begins to form behind us. His stack of chips grows until I start to wonder if he's some sort of card-counting genius. That is, until he begins to lose. That happens several drinks in. He can't catch a break and gets dealt a lot of sixteens. Then he doubles down on hands that just don't work out for him. The crowd becomes uninterested and leaves, and he eyes his cards with trepidation.

"Hit," he tells the dealer.

"You sure?" the dealer asks.

"Yes, hit me," he says again before I can stop him. The dealer puts down a nine and Edward busts.

"All right," I say as I laugh at the disappointed look on his face. "I think we're probably done gambling for the night."

"Why?" Edward asks in an adorable whiny voice.

"Because you just hit on eighteen," I say matter-of-factly.

Edward looks confused. "I did? Didn't I have fifteen?"

"Nope."

"Oh," he says as he frowns down at his chips. "Oops." He finishes off his drink and gets up from the table, stumbling a little.

I've only had a few drinks over the course of the night and am obviously the more sober one. Edward, on the other hand, had two on the plane, then one at dinner, and I'm not sure how many while we gambled.

"How about we take a cab back to the hotel?"

Edward gives me a sloppy grin. "Hmm, yeah. Let's go back to the hotel." He puts his arm around my waist and I lead us out in front of the hotel where someone waves a cab forward for us.

When we pull up to the Bellagio, Edward points out that we haven't seen anything except the main lobby, so we decide to take a quick walk around and see where we might want to eat tomorrow. We pass by the high-end stores and a few places to dine. It's after two a.m. and there are a few groups of people walking around, heading toward the casino or just taking in the sights like us. I'm looking over the menu at _Olives_ when I realize that Edward isn't standing next to me.

I look around but don't see him until I hear a group of girls laughing loudly and spot him in the middle of their group, walking away from me.

"Edward!" I call after him, but I doubt that he can hear me over the laughing and the excited squeals coming from the girls. I run after them as they enter what, based on the noise coming through the front doors, is a nightclub.

"Edward!" I yell again, but it's too late. He's already lost in the crowd.

"Hey man, you have to pay cover," says a large blonde guy at the front door.

I reach for my wallet and hand him some bills, then step into the crowd.

The place is packed. There's a glass wall surrounding the lowered dance floor, and people are leaning against it and lounging in nearby chairs. Everyone has a drink in hand and many are dancing in place to Lady Gaga playing over the speakers. It's deafening. Someone knocks into me and from what I can hear, doesn't apologize. It's been a while since I've been to a club. Maybe I'm getting too old for this.

I get as close to the railing as I can and search the crowd. I don't see Edward by any of the small tables, or by the bar. I feel a familiar panic and it occurs to me that here I am stalking him again, and I have to laugh at myself. I look down on the dance floor and finally spot him. The purple and green lights are flashing, and I can see him one second, but then not the next.

I walk down to the dance floor and into the clusterfuck. I continue almost blindly to the area where I think I spotted him until I finally find him, surrounded by a group of girls wearing matching sequined dresses.

I push my way through the crowd, getting felt up along the way, but I don't look around to see who it is. My eyes are glued on Edward. Even now, when I'm chasing after him, when I'm getting groped by strangers, I have to smile… because Edward is dancing.

He's moving his hips back and forth to the music, his eyes shut, smiling like a fool. Like he doesn't have a care in the world. There are three girls dancing with him, each of them shaking their hips and throwing their hands in the air while singing along to the lyrics.

One of them, a blonde with curly hair, is desperately trying to make eye contact with him. She wraps one arm around his waist, pulling him closer to her as she moves to the music. Basically she's humping him. I frown. I know he's not going home with her or anything but if anyone is going to be humping Edward tonight it's going to be me.

"Edward!" I yell over the music. "Edward!"

"Emmett!" His eyes meet mine and he grins. "This is Tanya!" he yells as he points to the girl humping him. "She's from _Alaska_!"

Tanya turns around to face me and, after giving me the once over, she grins. "Hi! This is Kate and Irina!" she points wildly to the other two girls, who each give me a smile and a wave. "We're sisters!"

I nod as if I really care and reach out to Edward. The one named Irina grabs my hand instead and starts to use me as her own personal stripper pole.

"You're _hot_!" she yells and giggles like it's the funniest thing in the world.

"Do you have a friend?" Kate screams over to me. Tanya nods enthusiastically.

"Huh?" I ask.

"There's three of us!" Tanya points to herself and then her sisters, as if I need help counting. "It would be awesome if you guys had a cute friend! We wanna party all night!"

I laugh – hard.

"Sorry, Tanya, but we're gay!"

"Huh?" she asks with a smile, leaning away from Edward a little so that she can hear me better.

"We're gay!" I scream at her, but the song's tempo has sped up, and the bass is even louder than before.

"I_ love_ to play!" she screams back with a wink.

"No, I said –" and then I decide, fuck it, I'll show her.

I reach over to Edward and pull him up against me. His hips keep moving and finally I'm the one that he's grinding against. His hands go around my neck and he suddenly pulls me closer, crashing his lips onto mine. His tongue is in my mouth, wildly kissing me as if he hasn't done it in days. His hips grind against mine and as we kiss I can feel his cock pressed between us. I moan, wishing like hell we were already back in our room.

Yeah, that needs to happen now.

I turn to find that all three of the girls have stopped dancing and are staring at us, mouths open.

"Sorry!" I yell with a shrug.

Kate and Irina both say "Awww!" in unison, looking at each other with _oh my God aren't they cute_ expressions before turning back to us. Tanya on the other hand looks pissed.

"It was nice to meet you. We're gonna go fuck now!" Edward yells at them and with a wave he walks away.

I follow him, making sure to hold his hand tight so that I don't lose him again. I can't help but glance back at the girls. Tanya still looks pissed.

Once we're out of the club I take a deep breath, enjoying the space to finally breathe. Edward pulls me up to him and he tries to kiss me, but he's smiling and ends up with his head on my shoulder, shaking with laughter.

"What?" I ask as I laugh with him.

"I just…" He gasps for breath and buries his face in my neck. "I don't remember the last time I had this much fun."

He's not laughing anymore and neither am I. I can feel his breath on me and the heat of his body against mine. His hands are gripping me around the waist, as if he has no intention of ever letting go.

"Edward," I say against his hair. "I…" The words are on the tip of my tongue, right there, ready for me to confess how I really feel.

Only, at that moment, he lets go. He leans back and looks into my eyes. His eyes are a little red and I'm not sure if it's from staying up late or the drinking or maybe from what he's feeling. Of course, I have no idea how he feels or if he feels even close to the same about me as I do him.

"Yeah?" he asks, and I realize that I didn't finish my thought.

I take a deep breath. "Let's go upstairs, okay?"

Edward smiles and he takes my hand once again as we walk back to the room.

By the time we find the right elevator and make it up to our floor, Edward is half asleep. He's leaning against my shoulder and my arm is around his waist. I'm practically dragging him down the hall.

In the room I lower him down onto the bed and undress him. Of course, this is not how I imagined tonight would end. Undressing Edward, yes. Falling asleep, yes. I just thought that more was going to happen in between. That's okay though because I still get to undress him. After I empty our pockets, plug in our cell phones, and set some water on the night stand, I undress myself and climb into bed with him. I pull him close to me and kiss his lips. I sigh in contentment, knowing that even if tonight wasn't exactly what I expected, I wouldn't change any of it.

.~.~.~.

_Ring._

I crack one eye open.

_Ring. _

I open the other, and groan. I have no idea what time it is, but I don't remember asking for a wake-up call. I reach over and grab the hotel room phone and hold it up to my ear. It's just a dial tone.

_Ring._

I sit up a little and see that the screen of my cell is lit up. I hurriedly press the answer button and bring it up to my ear, not wanting the noise to wake up Edward.

"Hello," I mumble.

I hear breathing, but the person on the line doesn't say anything.

"Hello," I repeat, a little more harshly.

"Edward?" the voice asks.

I sit up and glance down at the phone. It's not mine; it's Edward's. I glance over at Edward, who is sound asleep.

"Um, no. Sorry, he can't come to the phone," I say.

"Oh." The voice hangs on, and I glance down at the screen again. There is no name, but a number with a Portland area code is on the display.

"Can I give him a message?"

The person hesitates for just a moment and then takes a deep breath.

"Yeah, can you tell him that Garrett called?"


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen and dellaterra for betaing.**

* * *

**Emmett's POV**

_Garrett._

The name sounds so familiar, but my tired mind has a hard time remembering where I've heard it before. Then suddenly it comes back to me, crystal clear. Edward's ex. The one and only other guy he's dated since his parents passed away.

Edward hasn't said much about him, just that they were together for nine months and that it ended badly. He's also mentioned him a few times here or there. Garrett at a school fundraiser for Alice. Cooking Thai for the first time. A hiking trip. He never lingered on the subject, and I had never given his ex much thought.

Until now.

I feel my heart begin to race. My mouth is suddenly dry.

"Hello?" Garrett's voice brings me back to reality.

I take a deep breath. What the hell do I say to him? _Fuck off. Edward is mine. You had your chance. Leave us alone. _

"Hello?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll tell him you called."

I press the end button and watch as the timer on the phone call stops and blinks. Thirty-two seconds. It's amazing how such a brief encounter can make everything seem so different all of a sudden.

And then it hits me. Shit. I just told Edward's ex that I would tell him he called. What is this guy thinking asking another man answering Edward's phone to tell him he called? I groan, lie back down in bed, and consider my options.

I could _not_ tell him and hope that Garrett takes Edward's unresponsiveness as a hint to never contact him again. Or I could tell Edward, tell him that the only other person that he's dated in the last seven years has called him. Casually, like it's no big deal. _Good morning, Edward. I hope you slept well. By the way, your ex-boyfriend called. _

I look over at Edward. He's still sound asleep, his legs wrapped up in the sheets and his hair falling onto his face. Carefully, so that I don't wake him, I pull him closer to me, and with a sigh he snuggles up against my bare chest. I hold him close, not caring that he still smells of liquor and cigarette smoke from the casinos. At the moment he looks so calm, so peaceful. I can imagine it now, the shocked look on his face when I tell him about the phone call. But what about after? When he's over the surprise, and considers _his _options? Considers that his ex – who was fully a part of his life, who went to cheerleading competitions and cooked dinner with him, and_ fucked_ him for nine months – might want to get back together? Would he want to try to work things out with the only other person that he's cared about in years?

And what if it was more than that? What if Edward didn't just care about Garrett, but was in love with him? Would he give up a chance to have all that again? For me? The boyfriend who hasn't even stepped foot inside his house, let alone met Alice?

Not sure I can handle the reality of that question, I look down at Edward. I study his face as if somehow it will give me the answer I'm looking for. I stare at his fluttering eyelids and his parted lips. Instead of answers, I just see Edward. And he's not something I'm willing to risk losing.

Suddenly Edward's eyes open and he looks up at me.

"Are you okay?" he asks groggily, and reaches up to touch my face.

"I'm… fine," I reply, even though I'm anything but.

"Oh. You're squeezing me," Edward says with a sleepy laugh, and his hand falls back on to my chest.

"Oops. Sorry." I loosen the grip I didn't even know I had.

"That's okay. I'm not going to complain about waking up in these arms," he says as he runs his hand up and down my arm, his fingers following the curves of my muscles.

"Me either." I push the hair back from over his eyes. He rolls over so that he's half lying on top of me and buries his face in my neck. I can feel his morning wood against my thigh. I hold in a groan.

"Emmett," he says as he laughs against me. "You smell like an ashtray,"

"Hey!" I lean back so I can give him a look. "You don't exactly smell like roses, Edward. You actually kind of smell like a lush."

"A lush! I didn't drink _that_ much last night."

"More than I've ever seen you drink. How do you feel? Hungover?"

"Actually, after a night in Vegas, I'm not too bad. But I did get up in the middle of the night – or morning – or whenever it was to drink about a gallon of water. Speaking of which...," he says with a glance towards the bathroom.

He starts to get up off the bed. I see an opportunity to mess with him, and I can't pass that up.

I wait until he's at the edge of the bed and then grab his ankle at the last second, tugging him back towards the middle. He jerks back and lands on his stomach.

"Hey! I have to pee!"

I laugh and try to hold it together as I watch Edward squirm and kick his leg, trying to get me to let go.

"Not funny, Emmett!"

But it is. It really is. He twists over so that he's on his back and scoots over so that he's right by me.

"Emmett," he says, laughing. "Seriously, I have to pee." He reaches for my hand and tries to pry my fingers off his ankle. I let go. He grins in victory and gets up on all fours to race to the edge of the bed. I can't control myself. Edward's ass is in the air, right in front of me. I reach forward to grab it, but he's moving too fast and instead I end up grabbing his underwear and pulling it down to his knees.

He freezes, bare ass in the air and looks over his shoulder at me. "Can't a man take a morning piss?" His voice sounds angry, but I notice that he shakes his butt a little.

"Nope," I say with a wink.

I lunge for him, but he's too quick. He's up off the bed and running for the bathroom door before I can reach him. I jump off the bed after him but I'm a second too late, and he slams the door in my face.

"Ha!"

I'm laughing so hard I fall against the door. "You win, Edward."

I wait for him to rub it in some more but all I hear is the sound of him peeing.

"Geez, how many gallons of water did you say you drank?"

"Shut up!"

I rest my forehead on the bathroom door and laugh, but too soon I remember the phone call from this morning. I take a deep breath. Edward makes it so easy to forget about everything else outside of us. To forget about the responsibilities in his life. To forget about… Garrett. I should tell him. I know I should. I take another deep breath and knock on the door.

"Hey, Edward?"

No answer.

"Edward?" I say again, louder.

Still no answer.

I crack open the door and immediately see steam come out of the room. I hadn't even realized that Edward had turned on the shower. I step in the bathroom and look around. Edward must be in the shower already. Which means that he's naked. I walk as fast as I can toward the shower. The glass walls are completely covered in steam. The moment my underwear hits the ground I open the door, step in and freeze.

"Jesus, Edward," I mutter the second I lay eyes on him. He's leaning with his back against the shower wall and his hips thrust forward, stroking himself slowly, watching me. "Jesus fucking Christ."

I don't know if I've ever gotten so turned on so fast. I take another step forward, and Edward's hand moves faster. A second later I'm standing in front of him, hands flat against the wall on either side of him.

I'm mesmerized. I can't look away. His hair is wet and his eyes are half closed. My eyes follow the water streaming down his body until they rest on his cock. Fuck, his cock. It's so damn perfect.

Edward leans forward, and I look up to meet his eyes. I know what he wants and I want to give it to him. Our lips touch, then our mouths open, and his tongue invades mine instantly. We kiss, and he lets go of his cock to wrap his arms around me, then pulls me closer.

We stand there for a minute, kissing, hands roaming over each other. I reach his ass and squeeze it, rocking his hard cock against my own. Then Edward gently pushes me away.

I'm confused for a moment, but then he wordlessly turns around. He leans his hands against the wall and sticks out his ass.

I groan. Fuck. I press my body against his, resting my cock between his ass cheeks, exactly how I did before that morning in the shower a few weeks ago. I wrap my arm around his waist and pull him close. Then slowly, I move up and down. It's torture in a way, the fact that I'm so closeto where I want to be. Only this time it's so different. This time I know we'll be able to finish what we've started.

I kiss his neck, and he tilts his head to the side. I place even more kisses on his wet skin and breathe deeply. My hips thrust up against him faster and faster.

It's like I can't stop.

I want so badly to be inside of him, but my body can't get enough of everything it has in this very moment.

It's Edward's voice that brings me back from my trance.

"Want…," he groans.

I gasp for breath.

"Inside…," he moans.

I pull him even closer, remembering what those words did to me the last time. How badly I wanted him then.

"Now."

Fuck. Now. I want him now.

I let him go and open the shower door. I frantically dig through my bathroom bag, getting everything else soaked in the process, but I don't care. A few seconds later I'm closing the door again, condom and lube in hand.

Edward is still standing there, hands against the wall. He's looking over his shoulder at me. Watching me.

He bites his lip. I groan.

I walk back to stand behind him and kiss him. When I pull away I take a deep breath, trying to calm down and make sure I don't rush him. I finger him slowly. I don't want to hurt him just because I'm eager. But he's pushing back against me, panting and moaning.

"I'm ready, Emmett."

With the condom on and lubed, I sink into him. His warmth is so much more than the steam around us. I begin to move and, leaning back, my hands on his hips, I watch us where we are joined. Fuck. Feeling my dick in his ass is one thing, but watching myself slide in and out of him is another. It takes all of my restraint to not slam into him. I try to focus on the sound of the water pounding down around us, on the water running down his back and over his hips and ass. I lean forward and wrap one arm around his waist, the other along his arm against the wall, my hand covering his. Slowly, I tell myself. Slow.

But Edward doesn't seem to agree.

"Faster," he says. "Emmett, you feel amazing. Faster, please. "

I want to do whatever he wants, and who the hell am I kidding, I want it too. I speed up everything. My breaths, my thrusts – everything.

"Yes!" he yells, and I feel his fingers squeeze mine. His other hand travels down his chest to his cock, where he takes himself in hand, stroking hard. His movements are desperate, frantic. Every sound from him echoes in the shower and ring in my ears.

"Fuck! Right there!"

I keep going, burying my face in Edward's neck, willing myself to hold on. I want to bite down – hard. Instead I clench my teeth and grunt until I feel his body shudder and his ass tighten around me. One final thrust and I'm there too, pressing my body against his and coming hard inside of him.

We stand there for who knows how long, our shaky breaths in each others' ears, our lips landing everywhere they can reach.

"Finally," I whisper, and Edward laughs.

"I know. Me too," he says and moves to turn around, then wraps his arms around me.

He smiles, looking freshly fucked and very happy. I love that look. I want to make him look like this every day – fuck, multiple times a day. We wash up, kissing as we reach for the shampoo and soap. I shut off the water and, just as we being to dry off, I hear a phone ring. It reminds me of what I was going to do before I was distracted by Edward in the shower.

Garrett. I was going to tell Edward about Garrett. I freeze for a moment, realizing that it could be him calling again.

"That's probably Alice," Edward says and rushes out of the bathroom. I quickly finish drying off and follow him.

Edward sits on the edge of the bed and lifts the phone to his ear.

"Hey, Ali, how's it going?"

The words are a relief to hear.

I pull on some clothes and watch him chat with Alice. I notice that he smiles a lot when they talk. It's a different smile than his others. It's not his shy smile, or his I-just-got-laid smile. It makes his eyes sparkle and his whole body relax. It's obvious how much he loves his sister.

I sit down on the bed to wait for him, listening to him ask about how the park is coming along and where they're staying.

But then I hear him say, "Wait, Jasper is there too?"

I look up from the paper to see a scowl on his face.

"Why didn't you tell me Jasper was going to be there?"

A big pause.

"Alice, it is a big deal when a boy who obviously likes you is staying across the hall from you."

Shit.

"I don't care that there are chaperones, Alice. I don't think it's appropriate –"

Another pause.

"Alice, I know how teenage boys think."

I shift on the bed uncomfortably.

"It's not that I don't trust _you_. It's –"

I reach forward and touch his arm lightly. His head snaps up and his eyes lock with mine. He's angry.

"Okay, fine. I'm going to call you later. And Alice –" he sighs and runs his fingers through his hair.

"Okay, bye." He hangs up.

I reach out and squeeze his hand. He gives me a tight smile and squeezes back.

Some of the anger leaves his eyes and I sigh a little in relief. Then with a chuckle I say, "Don't worry, Edward. I'm sure Jasper's not going to do anything stupid like knock your sister up with all those chaperones around."

As soon as the words leave my mouth I know it was a mistake.

His jaw drops open and he yanks his hand back from mine. "I can't believe you just said that!" He stands, then stalks off toward the closet.

"Shit, sorry. I was trying to be funny," I say, and I know how pathetic I sound.

Edward grabs a pair of underwear and yanks them on under the towel. Like he doesn't even want me to see him naked right now.

"You think it's _funny_ that Alice is spending the weekend with a boy that likes her? And that the adult to teenager ratio is 1 to 6? That leaves a lot of alone time, Emmett."

He drops the towel then pulls a white polo off a hanger and over his head.

"Well, no. I don't think it's funny, Edward. I just–"

"And that Jasper kid is grabby. I've seen him. With my own two eyes."

"You've seen him grope Alice?"

"Well, not _grope_. But he wants to. Trust me, Emmett."

I stand and walk over to him. His arms are crossed, and I can almost see the steam coming out of his ears.

"Listen, Edward. I didn't –"

"And boys have sperm!" he yells. "Sperm, Emmett!"

Part of me wants to laugh at the sight of Edward standing in his underwear yelling about sperm. But that would be bad, very bad. Besides, I'm a little scared of him right now.

Slowly I take a step forward. "Edward, I'm sorry. You're right. It wasn't funny, and I shouldn't have tried to make a joke of it. I'm really sorry."

He huffs and glares at me for a moment before he sighs and uncrosses his arms to rub his face with his hands. Gently, I place my hands on his waist, testing the waters.

He sighs. I kiss his cheek. He rests his forehead on my chest and I wrap my arms around him.

"Sorry," I whisper into his ear.

He shakes his head a little back and forth, as if he's not sure what to say. So I just hold him and listen to the sound of his breathing. A few minutes later, his breaths are even and he lifts his head.

"Sorry," he mumbles.

"For what?" I ask, completely surprised. He's not the one who made an ass of himself with an inappropriate joke.

"For flipping out. I… Well, I overreacted and I was yelling at you and I'm sorry." His eyes roam over my face and I'm not sure what he's searching for.

"It's okay. "I'm sorry I made that stupid joke in the first place."

"It was just a joke. And I flipped out. I just… I don't know. I'm having a hard time with this Alice-dating-boys-thing," he says and pulls me close.

I nod and hold him tighter against me. Just then my stomach grumbles – loudly.

He laughs a little. It's a nice sound to hear.

"Hungry?" he asks and pokes me in the stomach.

"Yeah, I'm starving."

"Well you've worked up an appetite," he says and leans his face against my chest.

I sigh in relief, glad that we seem to be moving on.

"Hey, Edward, guess what?"

"What?"

"Today is the our first day together. I mean, our first _entire_ day together."

"Yeah, I guess it is." I can feel a grin spread over his face.

"There is a great brunch buffet downstairs. Hungry?"

He leans back to look at me, then brings his lips to mine. The kiss is brief, but when he pulls away, he's smiling.

"Yeah, let's go," he says and grabs my hand to head toward the door.

"Edward?"

"Yeah?"

I chuckle and point at him. "I hate to say this, but you might want to put some pants on first."

He looks down and laughs, then reaches for a pair of jeans. Once he's dressed, he grabs my hand again and grins. I smile back. I want today to be full of moments like this. I want to see him happy. Today is about Edward having fun, and about us.

I'll tell Edward about Garrett.

Just not today.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen and dellaterra for betaing.**

* * *

**Edward's POV**

It's okay. We're okay.

I think.

At least, Emmett _said _it was okay after my freak-out this morning. He made jokes even. He ate a huge stack of pancakes at brunch. He smiled. When we walked down the strip, he teased me about my drunken behavior last night. All morning, he's been _Emmett_.

Except when he hasn't been.

There have been moments when he's grown silent, when he seems lost in thought. Moments that I can't help but wonder if I've fucked things up.

Moments like now.

"Emmett?" I ask quietly, and he looks at me, as if he just remembered where he is.

"Yeah?" he asks as he smiles. I search his face for some sort of clue as to whether I'm just being paranoid. I don't find any.

I take a deep breath. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, of course." He looks at me questioningly. "Why do you ask?"

I grip his hand and glance around the half-deserted street. We're back in front of the Bellagio. Even though it's late in the afternoon now, some people look as if they've just begun their day; others look as if they haven't slept in days. Vegas is a lot different in the daylight, as if the glitz of the night washed away the moment the sun rose.

"I don't know." I shrug.

I feel a tap on my shoulder, and a little relieved for the interruption, I turn around to find a small elderly woman.

"Would you mind taking a picture for us?" she asks as she holds up a camera.

"Sure, no problem," I say, and take it from her. Emmett steps out of the way, and I take a picture of her and her husband. I laugh when I realize that the camera isn't digital and actually has real film in it.

Just as I'm returning the camera, Emmett pulls out his cell phone. "Would you mind taking a picture for us too?" he asks. The old woman agrees, and I try not to laugh as he tries to explain to her how to use the camera on his phone.

It takes a while, but finally he runs back over to me in front of the fountain, wraps his arm around me, and pulls me close.

"Say cheese," he whispers in my ear, and I lean into him, smiling.

The picture of us is actually pretty good. The fountain is spraying water upward, and Emmett and I are both smiling. This is our first photo together. I think I'll put it up in my office, on my desk.

"Perfect," Emmett says, and he sets the picture to his phone wallpaper. "Now I can see you even when you're not with me," he says, and he smiles another pure Emmett smile, one of those smiles that makes me melt.

"Hey," he says, and his smile turns into a frown. "What were you saying before? Is everything okay?"

Just like Emmett. He's always so concerned with making me happy, even after this morning.

I don't know how to tell him that I'm scared I freaked him out. Or how grateful I am for him always caring so damn much. So instead I kiss him. My lips cover his and my tongue pushes his mouth open. He seems shocked at first by the urgency of it, but after a moment he relaxes and pulls me close. I can feel my erection spring to attention, but instead of trying to hide it I just pull him closer, letting him to know how much I want him.

He moans a little, then breaks away.

He gives me a questioning look, but before he can say anything, I grab his hand and lead him back towards the hotel.

"Um, Edward? Where are we going?" he asks with a laugh.

I glance back at him for just a moment and walk faster. "The room."

"Why?" he asks, even though he sounds a bit hopeful.

I stop suddenly and turn around. He almost runs right into me.

I look him straight in the eyes and say, "Because I want you. Again."

He grins, and a second later he's the one pulling me back toward the hotel lobby.

There are others in the elevator, but I don't care. I press him up against the elevator wall and kiss him like we're alone.

As soon as the doors open, I yank him out into the hallway. He uses his other hand to pull out his wallet, fumbling for the key. By the time we get to the door, I'm unzipping his jeans. He curses as the light blinks red.

I reach into his jeans and squeeze his erection and he curses again, more loudly this time. "Fuck, Edward."

Impatient, I grab the key card from him and insert it into the slot. It blinks green.

We fall into the room. I pull off his shirt and get the first glimpse of my man's body. It's been… hours. I've missed it. Next are his jeans, which he helps me with. A second later I'm on my knees, his cock in my mouth.

"Oh God," he groans.

I take him into my mouth and suck, then pull back, my tongue grazing the underside of his shaft. Damn, I love his cock. The way it tastes. The way it feels inside of me.

I can't help but moan around him, and he gasps for air.

"Fuck, Edward –" he begins, but I take him deep in my mouth again, and his eyes shut. It's as if he's forgotten what he was going to say.

Good.

For once I want this to be all about Emmett, about what he wants. He gives and he gives, and fuck, I feel like a selfish jerk just taking all of the time.

I can give too.

My hands grip his ass and I take him even deeper, as deep as I can.

"Shit, Emmett gasps, his hands now in my hair. "Edward."

I feel him tug on my hair, trying to get me off him. I know what he wants. He wants to please me too. I just suck harder, moving back up his shaft until my tongue circles his head. Then I do it again. And again. And again.

He whimpers. He tenses. And with one last push of his cock deep into my throat, he comes. Groaning, he strokes my hair and mumbles something that sounds like "thank you."

I just swallow and lick until he's done. It's been a few weeks since I've tasted Emmett – another reminder that I've been putting myself first in our relationship far too much.

"Fuck," he sighs, and l release him. Then he looks down at me with a goofy smile.

I stand to wrap my arms around his waist, but before I can, Emmett pushes me back toward the bed.

"What was that?" he asks as the back of my knees hit the mattress.

"A blowjob," I say with a grin. He pushes me gently, and I fall on the bed.

"I know _that," _he says as he climbs up on his knees, straddling me. He rolls his eyes and tugs at the bottom of my shirt.

I reach out and stop him, and he freezes.

"What? What's wrong?" His brow is furrowed, his smile gone.

"You don't have to," I say with a shrug. "That's not why I wanted to come back up here."'

"Why wouldn't I want to?" Emmett leans back and sits on his heels.

I sigh and sit up on my elbows. I don't want to bring up our fight again.

"You were just acting weird earlier. I don't know, distant. I thought that maybe you were mad at me about this morning."

"Mad at you?" His jaw drops open. "Edward, why the hell would I be mad at you?"

I shrug and look away.

"Look at me, Edward. Please."

He's on top of me. I can't go anywhere; I can't escape this conversation. My eyes roam back over to him, and he's studying my face.

"I'm not mad at you, okay?"

"You're not freaked out?"

"Why would I be freaked out?"

"By all of this stuff with Alice… Jasper… Me freaking out about Jasper. I mean, that's not normally the kind of stuff couples our age fight about. I don't know. I guess I thought that it might have freaked you out."

Emmett sighs and rubs his hand over his face. "Edward, I'm not even close to being freaked out. I mean, I guess you're right about how it's not exactly typical stuff couples fight about, but I don't care. I'm just happy that you're talking to me about it in the first place. I want to be involved."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

I can feel my lips curl into a smile.

He leans over and kisses me. Softly at first, then deeper until his tongue is invading my mouth. He presses his hips against mine and rolls them slowly. I've forgotten what we were talking about in the first place.

When he pulls back, I'm breathless.

"I'm curious though. You thought I was mad."

I manage to nod.

"And you thought giving me a blowjob would help." He's smiling again, laughing at me.

I can feel my cheeks get hot. "I didn't think it could hurt."

He throws his head back and laughs, and when he looks back down he has an evil sort of grin.

"So," he says as he reaches underneath my shirt, running his hands over my skin and up toward my nipples. "You're okay if I don't want to fuck you."

He flicks my nipple softly, and I groan.

"What was that?"

"Yes. I mean, yeah, that's fine."

"Oh really?" he says as he slowly trails his hand down to my groin, then rubs my dick through the denim.

"Yeah."

His hand still on my cock, he leans back over me, so that his lips are right next to my ear. "Edward, in what universe would I not want to fuck you?"

Oh thank God. I push my hips up against him.

Emmett's grip on my cock tightens. It's the only part of me he's touching. Even his lips barely graze my ear. "How do you want it, baby?"

I moan.

"Tell me, Edward. How do you want me to fuck you?" His voice is deep and rough.

I'm so turned on I can barely see straight. I close my eyes tight and images flash through my mind. Of Emmett between my legs, my ankles around his neck. Of Emmett behind me on the bed, my palms against the headboard. Of Emmett pressing me against the large glass window, my eyes seeing Las Vegas Boulevard, my body feeling every inch of him.

"What was that, baby? You're mumbling." Now his voice is playful, teasing.

I open my eyes and take a few shallow breaths. "I don't care, Emmett. Any way you want. I just want you."

He chuckles, then kisses my neck. I relax, all of a sudden feeling like I'm made of jelly. He keeps kissing me, along my jaw and down my neck.

I bite my lip to keep from yelling. But fuck, I want him in me.

He sits back and begins stripping off my clothes, his fingers brushing against my stomach, my arm, and my thigh. He props up one of my legs, then the other.

"Please," I whisper. I need him. "Any way you want, Emmett. Just… _please."_

"Hmmm... Let me think..." He leans down again and murmurs against my stomach. When the scruff on his face brushes against my dick, I yelp.

He chuckles, then moves lower to place a soft kiss on the tip of my cock.

"Emmett," I moan as I watch him lick his lips.

"What, baby?" he asks, wide eyed. He would look innocent if his grin didn't give him away.

"Don't –" Emmett licks my cock, up, around the head, and then back down.

"Don't what?" he whispers, his face now between my legs.

"Don't –" His tongue trails down my balls, until I can feel him licking right beneath them.

"Shit!" I jerk at the sensation, surprising both of us. He sits up suddenly, then climbs up so that he's hovering over me again.

"What were you saying, Edward?"

"Don't fucking tease me, Emmett." It comes out harsher than I mean it to, but I need him to fuck me soon. Emmett isn't mad though. He's grinning like he just won the lottery.

"Turn over, Edward."

Finally.

I scramble up on my elbows and knees and try to be patient. When I finally feel his lubed fingers push into me, I sigh in relief, my face falling into the pillow.

"Jesus, Edward. Stop making noises like that. Or I'm going to come all over your back instead of inside you."

I hadn't even realized that I was making a sound. I shut my mouth and grind my teeth. When I hear the sound of the condom wrapper, I can't help but whimper.

"Sit up baby, put your hands on the headboard."

So that's how he wants it. That definitely works for me. I gladly follow his directions, get up on my knees and place my palms against the padded wood of the headboard.

I try to wait patiently, and am just about to start begging when I feel his body press against mine. I relax, and when I feel the tip of his cock against my opening as he slowly pushes into me, I can't help but let out a long moan.

Finally, finally, when he's inside me, I let out a deep breath. There. That's what I wanted, what I need.

Emmett presses his body against mine, covering me. "You okay?"

I nod, and he begins to move. His body is touching at every point possible except when his hips pull away before every thrust.

"Edward, please don't ever just think that I'm mad at you." He kisses my neck softly. "If I'm mad, I'll tell you, okay?" His arm wraps around me, his hand splayed over my stomach. "And don't ever think that I don't want you, Edward. I always want you." He whispers the words in my ear, his breath hot against my skin.

He begins to move faster, his cock filling me over and over.

"I can't stop thinking about you at work. I'm late for meetings because I'm so turned on I can't leave my office."

I moan. My arms are too shaky to hold me up anymore. I lean forward so that my cheek is resting against the soft padding of the headboard. Emmett buries his face in the crook of my neck, so close that I can barely hear him.

"I think about you every night. When I'm all alone fucking my hand, I wish like hell I was fucking you."

Thinking about Emmett jerking off while he's inside me makes me groan. Knowing that he wishes he were with me on those nights make me shudder with pleasure.

Emmett stops talking and starts kissing my neck. That's when I hear it – knocking.

It takes a second, but I realize the noise isn't coming from the headboard because it's nailed against the wall. No, this is from someplace else.

"Come –" I say, and Emmett reaches down to grasp my cock in his hand. I hear a muffled voice from the other side of the door.

"Come –" I say again, this time louder. Emmett picks up the pace, his cock rock hard inside me. I hear the click of the lock.

"Come back later!" I yell just as a dark-haired woman in uniform steps into the room.

Her eyes go wide and she screams, dropping a pile of white towels on the floor.

Emmett pauses for just a moment, but the second the door slams shut he begins again, just as hard as before.

"Damn, baby, everyone wants a piece of you," he breathes in my ear.

"Only you can have me," I say, and he groans loudly.

"Fuck, Edward," he moans, and suddenly he's gone.

I start to ask what's wrong, but he's pulling me down on the bed, and then I'm on my back. Emmett is rocking against me, kissing me everywhere.

"Jesus, Emmett, don't stop." He licks my neck, then nibbles my ear. "Please, Emmett," I beg. He lifts my leg up over his shoulder and enters me again.

"Say it again," he whispers. I can barely hear him, he's so quiet.

"Don't… " I pant, then groan, "…stop."

"No," he says, and leans over to rest his palms on the bed, my leg still over his shoulder. It feels so good. So good. He's so deep inside me, hitting me just the right way, over and over again. I can barely think. "Say it again."

I gasp for air and force my eyes open. He's staring down at me, thrusting hard, and the intensity is almost too much.

"I don't –" I whimper. I want to tell him what he wants to hear, but I can barely remember my own name, let alone what I said a minute ago.

"Please," he says, and I almost want to cry. I want so badly to come, and to tell him what he wants to hear.

Suddenly the words appear, and I look him in the eyes. "Only you can have me."

He groans, and I can feel him coming, and I'm right there too, gasping for air as I ride out the intensity of it all.

Releasing my leg, he collapses on top of me, his face buried in my neck.

"Thank you," he whispers.

I run my fingers up and down his back, feeling his muscles, and his soft skin. He seems so worn out. "Is everything okay, Emmett?"

He sighs, then props himself up on his elbow. "Are you kidding me? After that? I feel great." He grins from ear to ear, and I think that maybe I'm just imagining things. He seems just fine now.

"We missed the rest of the daylight," I say as I glance over at the window. The sun is setting, filling the sky with orange.

"Huh," Emmett says as he kisses me. "Vegas is best after dark anyway. We've got tickets for a show later."

"We do?"

"Yeah, for _O,_" he says as he wiggles his eyebrows.

I roll my eyes. "You mean the Cirque Du Soleil show?"

"Yeah, but let's just call it the O show," he says with a chuckle.

Sometimes I swear he's like a little kid. It makes me smile. "For now, how about we go get cleaned up?"

I hobble to the bathroom after him, a little sore from the O show that Emmett's been giving me all day. I chuckle to myself. Now he has me doing it.

"How about a bubble bath?" Emmett asks as he holds up a bottle of soap.

I laugh loudly. Of course Emmett likes bubble baths. I don't think I've had one since I was six.

"Oh, come on. Have you seen this tub?"

I glance down. It's huge. Which is good because I'm not sure Emmett and I could both fit in a normal-sized tub. Hell, I'm sure Emmett alone could barely fit in a normal-sized tub.

"No, Edward. Look at this." He points up. Above us is a skylight. We stare for a moment, watching as the clouds float above us.

"Wow." It really is beautiful.

A few minutes later, the tub is full of hot water, and I'm sitting down so my back is against Emmett's chest. Bubbles surround us, and the temperature is perfect.

I sigh and lean back, melting into him.

"Feel good?" he whispers into my ear.

I nod and turn my head to kiss him. We both look up again. The sun is setting quickly. Now the clouds are a deep orange and red.

"Thank you, Emmett. For bringing me here this weekend. For putting up with me."

"Hey." His voice is scolding. "I'm not putting up with anything. And believe me," he says as he trails his hand up my thigh. "The pleasure is all mine."

I smile, and he chuckles in my ear.

Right now, this moment, it feels so perfect. Like I could stay here forever. We sit for a few minutes, staring up at the darkening sky.

"Edward," he finally says.

I hum my reply.

"I've been thinking." Something in his voice makes my stomach knot.

"About what?"

"Work."

"Work?" I scoff. "Well, that's not what I've been thinking about."

He laughs a little, but it's tense.

"I've been thinking about the new store. I've decided to go ahead and buy the bigger property, and I'm using Angela's ideas. It's not just going to be sports equipment anymore. I want to do all of it – the bike track, the batting cage – everything."

"Emmett, that's great!" I say as I sit up. I turn around so my back is to the side of the tub and I can see his face.

"Yeah? You think so?"

"Yes! It's a great idea and I think it's a big step forward for the company. I was hoping you'd decide to do it." Now I'm the one grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm so glad to hear you say that, Edward," he says with a wary smile. Then, after a moment, "Because I want you to build it."

I freeze, completely stunned. "You what?"

Emmett takes a deep breath. I don't think I've ever seen him so nervous. "I want you to build it. I want you to be the chief architect on the project."

"Emmet you –" I pull at my hair. "You can't just ask me to do that. I mean, how do you even know I'm qualified?"

"You're qualified, Edward. I wouldn't have asked you if you weren't. I've seen your work. You're really good."

I roll my eyes. "Don't you think you're a little biased here? Have you spoken to any other contractors? This is a large project Emmett. It's going to take _years_. It's going to cost millions of dollars. Whoever does this can't… Well, they can't mess it up."

"I know that, Edward." He's looking right at me, more serious than I've ever seen him.

I can't believe he's asking me this. I'm beyond flattered that he would trust me with something this important. But quitting my job, taking this on… It's just so much to think about. Then suddenly, something occurs to me. "Emmett, does this have anything to do with Felix?"

He cringes for a second, then shrugs. "Well, I have to admit that you not having to work with that creepy fucker is a nice perk. But really, Edward, I would have wanted you to do this anyway."

"Emmett," I sigh and rub my face with my hands. "It's not that simple. I can't just _quit_."

"Why not? You're boss is a jerk. Your work environment is borderline harassment. Why can't you do what you love to do… with me?"

I sink back down into the water. That's the thing. Working on the new store sounds great. Leading an interesting project, getting away from my asshole boss, not to mention getting away from Felix… Well, it sounds like the perfect solution. But it would also mean that I would have to tell Alice that I quit. And that I have a new job. And I'm sleeping with my boss. It would be so much, all at once.

And even if all that goes well, what about months from now, what if things with Emmett don't work out? Then I've not only risked letting Alice get hurt, and myself, but I wouldn't have a job, a way to support Alice.

"Emmett, I –" I struggle with what to say, and his face falls.

"It's okay, Edward. I get it." He waves it off, then grabs my hand. "It's a big decision. Just promise me one thing, okay?"

I nod, and he squeezes my hand.

"Promise me you'll think about it."

That I can do.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to Kitty Cullen and dellaterra for betaing.**

* * *

**Edward's POV**

"I have to go, Emmett." Even I can barely understand my words. It's difficult to speak coherently when your lips are glued to your boyfriend's neck.

"I know," he mumbles as he pushes me back against the passenger seat of his car and kisses me on the lips.

It's another minute, or maybe two or three, until I can bring myself to push him away. "Seriously," I gasp. Our flight had landed late. "Alice will be home any minute now."

Emmett pulls away reluctantly, and I almost protest, then remind myself that I'm the one who has to go. He sits back in his seat and fiddles with the zipper on his jacket. He looks upset.

"You okay?"

Emmett looks at me, then answers quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just… didn't have enough time with you, that's all."

"I know. Me neither," I say before attacking his lips again. I can't seem to help myself.

Emmett kisses me for a minute, then gently pushes me away. "Can I see you this week? Before Seattle? Like… tomorrow? I can come meet you for lunch."

I think about it for a minute. A lunch date with Emmett would be a first for us, would be our first date in our own city. I find myself smiling at the thought. That is, until I remember that I can't.

"I want to, Emmett, but I'm really swamped at work this week. I'm probably barely going to have time to grab a sandwich from the vending machine."

His face falls, and I reach for his hand.

"It's not that long until Tuesday night. Just forty-eight hours and we'll be in Seattle for the night." I try my best to sound reassuring, like it's not that long at all, even though it really feels like I won't see him for a month.

He smiles tightly, then squeezes my hand. "Just… um… let me know if things change and you can see me before then, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," I say, even though I doubt it. My boss has me in lunch meetings all week.

Emmett's smile looks like he's trying to be okay with it but his eyes make it look like he thinks the world is going to end before Tuesday.

"Hey, don't worry, okay? The time will fly. Nothing bad is going to happen in the next forty-eight hours."

He doesn't smile, but I don't have time to cheer him up again. "Look, I've got to go. I'll let you know, okay? But I will definitely see you on Tuesday."

I lean forward for a quick kiss. "Thanks again, Emmett. This weekend was amazing."

"Yeah?" he smiles. Just a little.

"Yeah," I say, then open the door and climb out of the SUV. After grabbing my bag from the backseat, I head up the driveway to the house before stopping to turn around.

As I watch Emmett drive away, I try to ignore the knot in my throat and the twisting in my stomach. I turn back toward the house, telling myself that it's all a result of an exciting Vegas weekend. Too much liquor and not enough sleep. I couldn't possibly miss Emmett already.

Anyway, I can't just stand here staring at the empty street all night. I have other things to think about at the moment. Alice could home any second.

I let myself into the house and practically run to my bedroom. After stuffing my duffel bag into the back of my closet, I quickly change out of my nice clothes into my usual worn jeans and t-shirt, then I run around the house trying to make it look semi lived in. Alice can't know that I wasn't here all weekend. Her catching me returning from a weekend in Vegas is not the way I want to tell her that I have a boyfriend.

I hear a car pulling up into the cul-de-sac just as I'm tossing a pillow and the TV remote onto the couch. When I walk outside, Charlie is taking Alice's bag out of the trunk of the cruiser.

"Alice!" I say excitedly as soon as she climbs out of the car.

She scowls at me, and I stand there for a moment trying to figure out why.

Oh. Right. Jasper.

I sigh, remembering our argument about Alice spending time with him when not adequately chaperoned. Then I remember yelling at Emmett about sperm, and I can feel my face go red.

I take a deep breath and tell myself that I need to hold it together better than that. I can't flip out on Alice too.

"I missed you, Alice," I say with another sigh. I give her a minute, hoping that she'll crack her usual smile and give me a hug.

I only get one of those. Sort of.

Alice gives me a quick half-hearted hug and then mumbles that she's tired before taking her bag from Charlie and walking towards the house.

Charlie raises his eyebrows and gives me a look. "She _is _a teenager, Edward," he says with a shrug.

I nod, then thank him for bringing her home.

Inside Alice is snacking on chips at the kitchen counter.

"How'd it go?" I ask, reaching for a few from the bag.

"Fine." She turns away to grab a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Did you guys finish with the park? How does it look?"

"Yeah, we finished. It looks good," she says, then takes a sip. She doesn't look me in the eye.

"Alice…" I say, unsure of how to get her to really talk to me. I've never had this problem before. We usually talk about practically everything. Well, except for Emmett.

"I don't really feel like talking, Edward," she says as she picks her bag up from the floor. "I'm really tired."

Before I know it. She has left the room, and I'm standing there alone, still unsure of what to do.

.~.~.~.

Emmett is no help.

That night on the phone he tells me that she just needs some time to be upset. That she's not sure how to handle being a teenager just as much as I'm not sure how to handle it. He says that she'll talk to me eventually and that we'll figure it all out.

It's probably all true, but it doesn't help to fix the situation _now._

On top of everything with Alice, Emmett is still acting weird. He asks again if I'm sure I can't make it to lunch sometime before we go to Seattle, but my schedule at work won't allow for it. I end up feeling irritated that I'm disappointing him, even though we usually don't see each other unless we're in Seattle.

The next morning Alice still isn't really talking to me. Frustrated, I take the authority figure route and tell her that I had the right to be worried about her being around boys. She slams her bedroom door in my face.

So I decide to try another way. Monday evening, after work I go to the store and buy all the ingredients for lasagna. But when I call to tell her that I'm making her favorite dinner, she tells me that she's at Bella's house and she's going to spend the night. Then she hangs up.

I stare down at the half-cooked noodles and shut off the stove. Suddenly, I'm not very hungry.

Abandoning dinner, I'm just about to pour myself a drink when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I think I recognize the number, so I answer. But the moment I hear the voice, I know exactly who it is. Garrett.

"Please, Edward." His voice is panicked. "Don't hang up."

I'm not sure I can even breathe, let alone hang up. I stand there, trying to get over the shock, and he takes advantage of my silence.

"I called to apologize," he says in a rush, then pauses for a moment. "Edward? Are you still there?"

I nod, then realize that he can't see me. "Yes," I say, then quickly shut my mouth. My voice is shaky.

"Thank you," he says quietly, then continues. "I called to apologize, Edward. For how I treated you. For ending things the way that I did."

It takes a moment, but I find my voice again, and hope that it doesn't sound weak.

"Why?" It's been years. Why apologize now?

"AA," he says simply, as if that explains everything. When I don't say anything, he continues. "I took 'being young' a little too far after we broke up, Edward. I kind of – I mean, I did – get out of control. It was bad. I... um... I hit rock bottom and, well, I'm trying. To find my way back up."

I'm in the living room before I even realize I've walked there, and I sit down on the edge of the sofa.

"It was a mistake, leaving you. Probably my biggest mistake ever."

I gasp for air. His words are like needles to my heart.

"I didn't want to admit it to myself then, but I drank as a way to deal with the fact that I made a mistake. I knew I fucked things up really bad. I didn't want to miss you, Edward. I didn't want to regret leaving, but I did, and I just couldn't deal with it. So I drank. I drank and I fucked my life up even more. I'm trying to get my life back together, Edward. But first I need to tell you how sorry I am. So sorry."

Then there is nothing but silence. For a moment it seems like he's waiting for me to say something, and honestly, I have no idea what to say. I'm bombarded with so many emotions. Confusion and sadness threaten to overwhelm me, but I finally settling on the strongest of them all – anger.

"Do you have any idea how badly you hurt me, Garrett? How badly you hurt Alice?" Suddenly I'm on my feet, pacing the living room. "I told you how it was going to be. I told you where my priorities were, and you told me you could handle it. I let you into our lives, more than I had with anyone ever before and then you suddenly changed your mind!"

I can hear him on the other end of the line, stumbling for words. Anger wasn't something that I showed Garrett very often when we were together; my honesty seems to be taking him off guard.

"I wasn't ready, Edward. I tried. I did. But I wasn't ready for all of it yet!" With every word his voice grows louder and more desperate, more defensive.

"You should have told me, Garrett! You should have come to me and told me that you felt like that. Instead of breaking up with me out of the blue."

I can hear him breathing deeply on the other end of the line. It feels like a full five minutes before he speaks again.

"You're right," he says. I collapse onto the sofa, rubbing my face with my hand as he goes on. "I should have talked to you about how I was feeling instead of ending things so suddenly. I'm so sorry that I hurt you."

"Us." The word is out of my mouth instantly, so much a truth that I don't even think about the words before I speak them.

When I hear him begin to stutter a question I cut him off, explaining. "You hurt Alice too, Garrett. You hurt both of us."

"Oh," he says quietly. "Of course."

I shake my head. Even now, after all of these years it is obvious how far Garrett is from being the kind of man I can trust in our lives.

He's nothing like Emmett.

I smile at the thought of him, then force myself to return to the matter at hand.

Garrett called to apologize. Well, he had. And I had listened. I think about all of the things that I could say. I could tell him about how hard it was after he left, about how I haven't been able to trust anyone else since. But suddenly, it doesn't seem worth it. It doesn't seem worth it to burden Garrett with guilt over things that he can't change, not when he's already acknowledged what he's done. It won't make me feel any better either, and it's not as if it will change anything.

"Edward? Are you still there?" Garrett's voice sounds nervous.

"Yes," I say, then take a deep breath and say something I never thought I would. "I – I accept your apology, Garrett."

He sighs, then stutters in disbelief. His relief was palpable. It is so real that I actually felt kind of happy for him.

Then with a deep breath, his voice shaking, he asks me something else.

"Edward, I know this is asking a lot, but I need to know. Would you ever give me another chance?"

Honestly, I didn't see it coming. Never had I ever imagined being with Garrett again. I had spent all the time since we'd broken up being so angry that there was no room to even consider being back with him.

I sit back down on the couch and try to imagine being with Garrett again. I try to remember when we had been happy together – and can't. When I try to remember laughing with him, I hear Emmett's laugh. When I try to imagine Garrett's smile, all I see is Emmett's. When I think about all the times I had held Garrett's hand, all I can think about was the last time I held Emmett's.

I'm not sure how long he waits while I worked things out, trying to figure out how to explain that there wasn't a possibility of an _us _anymore, but it's long enough that I didn't have to explain at all. He already knows.

"There's someone else, isn't there?"

"Yeah," I say, although _someone else_ wasn't even close to how I would describe Emmett – he is much more than a _someone_.

"The guy who answered the phone this weekend? Is he your boyfriend?"

It takes me a moment. My mind tries to piece together what he said with what I know. But it finally hits me. It's why Garrett had been so worried that I would hang up on him, that I wouldn't give him a chance to talk – he had already tried. And I didn't know. But Emmett did…and he didn't tell me.

I sit there for a moment and let it sink in. Why would Emmett keep this from me? Are there other things that he is keeping from me? I clench my jaw, take a few deep breaths, then finally answer.

"Yeah."

"Figures. But I had to try, you know?" Garrett chuckles softly, and for a moment he sounds like his old self, the Garrett that I used to know.

"Good luck, Garrett. Take care of yourself."

"Thank you, Edward. For everything."

I pull the phone away from my ear and look at the end button. I push it, and as the screen goes blank, I know that I will never hear from Garrett again.

The house suddenly seems huge, and very empty. I can't remember the last time I felt this alone. But when my phone rings, it doesn't help. Emmett's name flashes on the screen and all I can think about is that he knew. He knew about Garrett calling and he didn't tell me. I thought I could trust Emmett, but now I'm not so sure. I let it ring a few times, trying to decide if I can answer, trying to figure out if I would even know what to say. I don't. With unsteady hands, I ignore the call, then turn off my phone.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to dellaterra for betaing.**

* * *

**Emmett's POV**

"Emmett?" Angela peeks her head into my office and smiles.

I look up from my computer, where I have been busy trying – and failing – to work.

"What's up, Angela?" It's a welcome interruption. Angela's constant ideas and questions regarding the new store are exactly what I need to keep my focus on work, and not on Edward. She's thrown herself into the project, proving that she has skills way beyond what she's already shown. Pretty soon I will have to get Angela her own assistant.

"Rose is here." She smiles at me as if she's delivering really great news.

"What? Why?" If I sound terrified it's because I am. I've been spending as much time avoiding Rose this week as I have trying to get Edward's attention.

Angela looks confused by my reaction. We give each other a questioning stare; usually we're on the same page. "For lunch…" She looks at me like I've suffered a head injury. "She called this morning and said –"

Rose's face appears above Angela's in the doorway, and she glares. "I know you aren't busy, Em. I have a fucking appointment."

Rose had called, texted, and emailed me – all messages that I've avoided. Apparently, my not reporting back to her every single detail of what happened in Vegas makes me a terrible best friend.

There is a whole lot of good stuff – no, really great stuff – about Vegas that I could tell her. But all I can think about were the things I had screwed up. So I ignored her messages, hoping the whole time that Edward would answer mine. I hadn't spoken to him since Monday, when I was trying to help him sort out things with Alice. I know that I'll see him tomorrow when we go to Seattle, I can't help but get more and more anxious every minute that I don't hear from him.

I sigh and shake my head. With Rose, resistance is futile. She knows me too well for my own good.

"Okay, okay. Where are we going?" I make sure that my cell is in my pocket before walking over and kissing Rose on the cheek.

She swats me on the arm, then smiles victoriously. "It's a surprise. Don't worry, they have good cake."

Okay, maybe it isn't such a bad thing that Rose knows me so well.

As we make our way down to the car she smiles some more and asks me about work. I'm surprised that she's letting me off so easy, then remember that this is Rose. Sooner or later she'll get what she wants out of me.

I'm not surprised to find that she passes the exit on the freeway leading to where we usually go out to lunch.

"Rose, where are we going?"

"Hmmm?" She pretends to adjust her side mirror before falling silent as we pass by a few more exits. When she finally does pull off the highway, we're in a familiar neighborhood, one where I'm positive there isn't some new restaurant that she wants me to try. The further she drives the more I recognize, and then I realize… I should have known. I really should have known.

"Rose, are we –"

"Going to your mom's house? Yes." She glances at me, at least having the decency to look a little guilty.

"Rose!" I fall back into my seat and groan. And I thought we were best friends.

"I do what I have to do, Em, and obviously something is really up with you."

"I'll talk! I'll talk! Let's just go somewhere else okay?"

Rose winces, then pats my hand. "It's too late. If we don't show up, we're going to have to explain why."

I feel like banging my head against the window.

"Listen, Em. The reason that I even called your mom in the first place is because I'm worried about you. I want to help, but let's face it. I'm not exactly a wealth of knowledge on healthy relationships. Your mom and dad may have gotten divorced, but she knows a lot more about relationship than either of us does."

I hate to admit it, but she has a point. "Fine."

"Of course I do. Now stop pouting."

The moment the front door opens, my mother greets us with a smile and hugs. When we enter the kitchen, she already has plates with turkey sandwiches and chips set out for us. After pouring us each a glass of iced tea, she gets down to business.

Palms flat on the counter, she looks me right in the eye. "Okay, sweetheart. What's going on with you?"

I'm tempted to mutter "nothing" and start pouting again, but I know that neither of them will give up until I do what they brought me here for. Talk.

"I think I messed up."

My mother gives me a look, but after a moment her pursed lips relax into a small smile. "Define 'messed up', Emmett."

I feel more like a stupid teenager now than I ever did back when I actually was one.

"Um… well… Edward's ex-boyfriend called him while we were in Vegas."

Rose's jaw drops open, and my mother's lips return to a tight line. "_The_ ex-boyfriend? The only one he's had since…?"

I nod. "Yeah. And, well… Edward was sleeping and I answered his phone by accident and…."

Rose's fingers grip around my wrist, demanding my attention. "Oh my god! What did he say? What did you say to him? Is he a total jerk?"

I roll my eyes. Of course Rose wants all the details instantaneously. My mother pats her hand, silently telling her to calm down.

My mother doesn't need to calm down, even though I can tell she knows this isn't going anywhere good. "What did Edward think about him calling?"

"Well…" Staring down at the counter, I pause for a moment, until Rose kicks my leg. "I didn't tell him about the call."

For a moment, no one says anything.

Suddenly Rose squeals and jumps up a little in her seat. "What, that's _it_? That's _all_? You didn't tell him about a stupid phone call? That's not so bad, Em! Tell him now, apologize for being an idiot and not saying something sooner, and he'll forgive you. No big deal."

For a moment, I just want to squeeze Rose. Maybe this isn't as bad as I think it is. Maybe I've been stressing over nothing. Maybe… Only the look on my mother's face tells me I'm not so lucky.

She sighs. "Emmett, you know that you've made a mistake here."

Yeah, I know. Rose and I both look over at her, heads hanging a little. She continues.

"It may just seem like a stupid phone call to some people, but it's a lot more to Edward. From what you've told me, he lives a very closed-off life. He doesn't trust a lot of people, especially with Alice. And isn't that what you want? For him to trust you with everything? His entire family?"

Yes, that's exactly what I want. More than anything. Unfortunately, right now it feels like that will never happen.

"Yeah." Shit I feel like a kid all over again, only this time, instead of getting caught playing video games in the middle of the night, I've done something much worse. Something that will hurt someone that I… love.

"Okay, then. Don't kid yourself that this isn't going to hurt Edward. _Especially_ if he finds out before you tell him."

And there it is. The only thing worse than me not telling him in the first place would be if Edward finds out directly from his ex. Which, based on how he's been ignoring my calls, has probably already happened.

"Does he know?" Rose's eyes are wide. Oh, _now_ she's scared. Great.

"I think so," I mutter, then look down at the table. "He hasn't answered any of my calls since Monday afternoon. Or texts. Or emails." My head drops down to my hands. Fuck.

"It's okay, Emmett. It is." Rose pats me on the back. Then I hear her whisper "Right?" to my mother.

"Yes," my mother says to the both of us. "It's going to be fine. As long as you tell Edward as soon as possible. And you explain to him why you kept it from him in the first place."

I shoot up in my chair. _Why_? I had been worrying so much about Edward's reaction that it hadn't occurred to me that he would want an explanation. And the only reason I have is that...

"What?" Rose narrows her eyes at me.

"What?" I ask in return, hoping she won't pursue the issue.

"What is your reason? Because the more I think about it, the more I realize that if I were Edward, I would definitely want to know why you would hide something like that."

My mother glances in my direction, then at Rose, then back at me. "Okay, Rose. I think that's enough. He knows why he did it. He owes Edward an explanation, not us."

"I think he should say it. You know, practice on us. If he can't tell us, how does he expect to tell Edward?"

She has a point. Again. Only, I don't intend to tell Edward that I love him. I can't. The only possible reaction I can see him having is running away. Our relationship is far more intense than he's used to. Then there is the job offer, which he already expressed concern over. Do I really want to tell him that I love him on top of all that? I don't think so.

"I was scared that he'd go back to Garrett." It's the truth, at least a part of it.

"And…?" Rose's persistence is sweet in it's own way, but irritating.

"And what?" Now it was my turn to glare at Rose.

"And why don't you want him to go back to Garrett?"

"I – I –"

"Okay!" My mother stands up and pushes her chair back loudly. "I think that's enough. Emmett, you barely touched your lunch. How about some cake?"

Rose shakes her head, but stands up to help out my mother anyway.

I sit and sulk. And think. And feel sick.

After insisting that I'm really not hungry at all, my mother sends us away with plates of chocolate cake.

We drive back to the office in silence.

Finally, when Rose pulls into a parking spot, I decide to tell her more. It's not like she won't find out eventually.

"I asked Edward to take the new architect position."

She looks at me immediately, wide eyed.

"I thought that… I don't know. It was the perfect solution, you know? Edward wouldn't have to work with that creep Felix anymore, and I would have an architect that I trust…"

"And Edward would know that you're serious about your relationship? That you're not going to leave?"

As irritating as she can be, Rose gets me. She really does.

"Yeah. But it didn't work. All he could see were the negatives. I could tell that he didn't think it was a good idea, and he hasn't brought it up since."

Rose grabs my hand and squeezes it. "I'm sorry, Emmett."

I sigh, then lean back into my seat. "Thanks. But do you see why I just can't go and lay it all out to him? The last time I tried to show him how serious I am about us, it failed miserably. What if I tell him how I feel and he just… can't handle it? Doesn't feel the same way? Fuck, Rose, I can't lose him. I don't even really have him yet."

"Yeah I guess that _could_ happen, Em. Or…" Rose looks up at me and bites her lip. "Or maybe he feels the same way. You know, underneath everything else that he's focusing on. Maybe he loves you already and just doesn't know it. Maybe he needs you to reassure him that it's okay to feel that way about you, because you feel the same way."

I stare into her eyes and I can tell that she hopes this is true. That she wants that for me as much as I want it for myself.

"I'm going to break up with James." She says it out of nowhere, and I'm taken aback.

"Why?" Of course, I can list a thousand reasons off the top of my head, but any time I've mentioned any of them before it hasn't do any good.

"Because…" she sighs deeply, and thinks for a moment. "Because the bottom line is... I don't love him."

Now it's my turn to squeeze her hand. Her head falls to my shoulder, and I lean on her too.

"I just want a guy who is a good man, you know? Good and smart, and fun. And hot. And good in bed." She snorts as she finishes. "That's not too much to ask for, is it?"

I can feel her tears as they drop onto my shirt. I pull her even closer.

"Not for you it's not," I say softly, meaning every word.

"I love you, Emmett." I know she means it too, and I make a promise to myself that I won't let Rose settle for less than she deserves. And she deserves the best.

"I love you too, Rose."

.~.~.~.

Back at work I try again to keep busy. Angela keeps giving me looks, and asking if I'm all right, but I know she can tell that my mumbled assurances are far from the truth.

I call Edward. Then I call again.

When I hang up the phone Angela is standing in my doorway, worried eyes watching me.

"Can I help you with anything, Emmett?"

My sigh is more like a groan. I want to bang my head against the desk.

"No, Angela, thank you." There isn't anything that she can do for me. I have to fix this myself. Now.

I stand up and grab my jacket and keys, not bothering to shut down my computer.

"I'll be gone for the rest of the afternoon. Cancel any meetings, all right?"

I can't get out of there fast enough. Angela barely has time to answer before I race past her, anxious to get to my car. I know where Edward's office is, even if I've never been there before. Disturbing him at work is the last thing I want to do, but maybe if he just sees me, sees how sorry I really am, he'll finally talk to me.

When I get there I head straight for the receptionist's desk and ask to see Edward. The receptionist smiles nervously at me, eager to please. She picks up the phone and dials. I wait. When she frowns, I shake my head.

"I'm so sorry, he's not answering…"

I barely hear what she says, because behind her, I see Edward walking down the hall.

"Edward!" I yell much too loudly.

He looks up at me, a shocked expression on his face. Silently, I motion for him.

The receptionist looks behind her. "Mr. Cullen? Oh! Someone is here to see you."

Edward walks toward us quickly. The closer he gets the more obvious it is that he is also having a rough day. He looks tired, the circles under his eyes are dark, and his hair is even more of a mess than usual.

The receptionist smiles again, pleased that she's found him; that is until she sees the look on Edward's face. It's not even close to being pleased. His anger and frustration are obvious, even more so when he speaks.

"What are you doing here, Emmett?" He practically hisses the words.

"Edward, I –"

He cuts me off, before I can even begin to explain. "I don't have time for this right now."

"Edward, please, I just really need to talk –"

"Oh, so _now_ you want to talk? We had a lot of time for that this weekend, remember? You just chose not to."

"Edward!" We both turn to look down the hall behind him, where a short man is waiting by the door of what looks like a large office. He is tapping his foot impatiently, glaring at Edward, and then glaring at me.

The receptionist, who is still sitting down next to him, speaks up. "I'd go if I were you, Mr. Cullen. He looks pretty angry." She presses her lips together and turns away, trying to give us some privacy.

"I'm waiting, Edward," the man says again, this time even louder.

I'm not sure what is going on, but it's obviously really stressing Edward out. I'm torn between backing off and letting Edward deal with it, and demanding to know what the hell that guy's problem is. But this is my chance, if not to really talk, but to let him know that I'm sorry.

"I want to apologize, Edward. To explain."

"I can't, Emmett," Edwards says, shaking his head and taking a step back. "I can't deal with this right now."

"Later?" My eyes search his, hoping that he'll see that I love him, and hoping that I'll see something that tells me he hasn't written me off forever.

"_Mr. Cullen_."

Edward looks behind him, then back at me.

He shakes his head, then turns around and follows the man into the room. Without looking at me again he shuts the door.

I stand there, staring at the closed door, but only seeing Edward's eyes. Those eyes that I've stared into countless times looked like a strangers, yet so familiar.

Then I remember that first day, the day we met at the airport, when I ran into him. All I could see was an angry man, one who looked like he just couldn't wait to get away. There was nothing resembling love is in his eyes. Like that first day, I'm scared that once I lose him, I'll never get him back. Only this time, it feels like I already have.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

******Thanks to dellaterra for betaing.**

* * *

**Edward's POV**

"Mr. Cullen, are you listening to me? Have you heard anything that I've said?"

I can't help but stare across the table at Mr. Banner, my mouth probably hanging open. How could I have _not _been listening?

"Yes," I finally manage, and it takes everything in me to not shake my head in disgust. "You said that Volturi Law is our biggest client. That even though you probably made a mistake by putting someone so young on the project that I need to step up and stop screwing around. I need quit making mistakes and pay attention to detail and be professional. And if I don't do those things, and do those things soon, you'll fire me." I swallow hard, my throat suddenly dry.

Mr. Greene nods. "I'm glad to see that you're paying attention for once."

I almost want to laugh. It's like he doesn't even remember that I've worked at this company for years and never once had a client complain about me. That not once in all those years before I started this project has _he_ complained about me. It wouldn't matter how much I tried to explain the truth to him, he just didn't want to hear it.

"You're excused," he says dismissively, already looking down at some paperwork. "Do better, Mr. Cullen."

I nod automatically, then walk out toward the reception area.

"Mr. Cullen!" I stop at the sound of the receptionist calling my name. When I turn around, she's waving an envelope in the air.

I sigh and walk over. I really just want to go and lock myself in my office for the rest of the day.

"That man, he left this for you," she says as she hands it over.

"Thanks," I mumble, and then stare at the envelope for a moment. Emmett left me a note. I turn it over in my hand, wondering if I even have the energy to read what's inside. It could be another message asking me to call him. Or it could be more. It could be an apology, or an explanation. Maybe it's some stupid excuse about how he thought that my ex calling wasn't important, and that I'm overreacting. That it's not a big deal. But it feels likea big deal. It _is_ a big deal.

After a while I realize that I'm still standing in the lobby and that the receptionist is trying to make it look like she isn't watching me.

"You know…" She glances over her shoulder. "Mr. Greene is in meetings for the rest of the afternoon. Just in case you have something else you need to do…" She smiles shyly, then turns away to answer the ringing phone.

I nod, then walk straight to my office. I pace around it, clutching the envelope and pulling at my hair. The entire day has sucked. And whatever is in the envelope has the potential to make things better… or worse. Much worse.

With a groan, I grab my jacket and briefcase. It's obvious that I'm not going to get any work done this afternoon, and if Mr. Greene will be too busy to notice that I'm gone, then why should I stick around for any more grief? Even if he does notice, what is the worst that could happen? He already thinks I'm the Worst Employee of the Year.

The drive home is shorter than usual without any of the rush-hour traffic, and before I know it, I'm pulling up into the driveway. The front door is open, the screen door letting in fresh air. Alice must be home early too. I check my phone to see if she sent me any messages. There are none, of course, because Alice is still angry with me about Jasper. All I see are messages from Emmett. Message after message from Emmett.

I sigh, then pull Emmett's envelope out of my pocket.

Even though I'm dying to know why_ – _why would he do something that hurt me so much – I'm pretty sure there's nothing he can say that will make me trust him again. So what's the point? It's better if it's just me and Alice. Safer. I don't even want to think about how I'd feel if this had happened after Emmett met Alice. It hurts enough as it is.

Still… it's Emmett.

Hanging onto the moment of hope, I rip open the envelope and pull out a small sheet of paper. The note is short, just one line on the page.

_**I was scared that you wouldn't choose me. Please give me another chance. **_

A minute passes, then another. I stare at his words in confusion.

Scared. Emmett said that he was scared. I shake my head. It just doesn't make any sense. Emmett always seems so sure of things. He is rarely upset or nervous. I'm the one who is always scared, not him.

I gather my things, placing Emmett's note back in my pocket. I'm still trying to understand as I walk up the driveway, but the moment I step through the door I freeze.

Alice is kissing Jasper.

Jasper is kissing Alice.

He is half on top of her and she has her hands in his hair and he has his hands up her shirt and I can't do anything but yell.

I'm not even sure what it is that I yell, but whatever it is, it's loud.

They both jump, and Jasper lands on the floor with a loud thud.

"Edward!" Alice yells right back, and I finally shut my mouth. "Oh my god!" she yells some more as she yanks down her shirt.

With wide eyes I watch as Jasper stands, hands held up as if he got caught robbing a bank. "Edward! I mean, Sir, I mean…"

I take a few steps forward, eyes narrowing as I watch him with his hands still up, and his pants sagging down. His eyes are so wide that it looks like they're going to fall out of his head. Then I look at Alice, who is standing with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at me. Like _I'm_ the enemy.

I always knew that I was going to have to deal with Alice's love life eventually. Boys, girls, whichever it was, like all teenagers, I knew she would have problems with them at some point. I just didn't ever think that Alice would see _me_ as one of her problems.

After I take one deep breath, I pause, and then I take another before walking over to them by the couch. Jasper flinches a little, like he expects me to come after him. But I'm not going to beat up a kid, and I'm sick of fighting with Alice.

Slowly, I push Jasper's hands down to his sides. He tenses up for a moment, then seems to relax a little.

"I think it's probably best if you go home now, Jasper." My voice sounds relatively normal. Even I'm sort of impressed.

Jasper nods. Nearby, I hear Alice start to say something, then change her mind, and just whisper, "Bye, Jasper."

He shuts the door behind him.

When I turn toward Alice, she is looking between me and her bedroom door and then back again. Before she can run away from this, I sit down. I pat the seat next to me. She sighs and sits, curling up with a pillow in her lap.

"So." The word hangs in the air. It's never been so awkward between us and I can't even begin to describe how much I hate it.

Alice plays with the pillow, fingers pulling at fraying threads. She says nothing.

"You like Jasper," I begin, and Alice looks up at me in what must be the most typical teenage expression I've ever seen. _Duh._

I try again.

"He seems…" I don't want to say that he seems _nice_, because honestly I don't know if he is. Part of me wants to say that he is a bad idea – a no-good punk who is full of _sperm_ – but I don't.

"That's… cool." I finally finish off and she cringes, probably because this conversation is getting more awkward by the second.

I lean back, sagging into the sofa, wondering why the hell this is so damn hard.

Alice does the same, leaning her head to the side, watching me. She sighs. I think she's tired of being angry too.

"He _is_ cool." Alice says quietly.

"Oh yeah?" Turning my head toward her, I study her face. For the first time in days she doesn't look angry. She just looks like my Alice, trying to work shit out with me. Together, just the two of us, like it's always been.

I can do that. I _want_ to do that.

"Yeah, he is." She pauses, then continues when I don't interrupt. "He's just so chill, you know? And he's smart too. We aced our biology project, and he helped me study for our history exam, and I think he's probably going to get a bunch of scholarships."

I nod. So far, so good. I can't complain about any of those things. I try not to think about the fact that the kid she is talking about had his hand up her shirt just minutes ago.

"He plays the guitar. And he doesn't think it's weird that I'm a cheerleader but I don't wear makeup. And he thinks it's cool that I would rather play video games than go to the mall after school. And he –" She stops abruptly and takes a deep breath, then continues in a whisper. "He lost his parents too. His biological parents, when he was really little."

Oh. _Oh_.

Before I even know what I'm doing, I have Alice wrapped up in a hug. My arms squeeze her so tight that for a moment I'm afraid that I'm going to hurt her, but she just squeezes me right back.

I had been so damn busy being angry over Jasper that I hadn't even stopped to consider what it was that she liked about him. To consider that maybe there was a reason that for the first time ever, she has taken an interest in someone beyond friendship. Maybe she'd finally made a connection too.

When we finally pull apart, we are both smiling shakily, and I know she feels the same relief as I do at being done with being angry.

"That's great, Alice. He sounds like a good guy." It doesn't sound awkward this time. I really mean it.

"He really is, Edward. We have so much fun together, and I really want you to like him." She bites her lip anxiously.

"What's wrong?" I ask softly, giving her hand a squeeze.

"I just really hated that you were angry. I've never liked a guy this much and I really want you to like him too. We've…" She glances at me, as if she's unsure if she should continue, but she does. "We've been hanging out a lot. After school and stuff, before I have practice." She hangs her head just a little, and I bite my tongue, resisting the urge to ask why the hell I didn't know any of that. "And I started feeling bad, because it's like we're always hanging out at school or over at Bella's. I just didn't want him to think that he was… I don't know. Some sort of dirty secret or something."

I can feel my body tense as her words hit me, the quick jump of my heart as I realize what she's saying.

Alice was worried about Jasper getting hurt.

When was the last time I stopped to think about how Emmett felt about everything? When have I ever done anything that made him feel that he was a part of my life in our own damn city? He had listened when I told him that I needed to make Alice a priority and he'd put himself at the very bottom of my list. Even our trip to Vegas was planned around my schedule with Alice.

I felt like he had ruined my trust in him. But what about his trust in me? When had I ever given him any reassurance that I would choose him over anything or anyone else in my life? No wonder he was scared that he might lose me to Garrett. I'd never done anything to make him think otherwise.

Emmett had given me everything I'd asked for, and then the moment he made a mistake, I just gave up.

"Edward, are you okay?" Alice asks with wide eyes. "You don't look so good."

I don't feel so good. Actually, I feel kind of sick.

"I… Um, I just… I know what you mean." I swallow the lump in my throat, realizing what I'm about to do.

She tilts her head, looking at me with an expression that clearly asks _you do?_

I take a deep breath, and she waits some more. "I've been seeing someone. Dating someone. His name is Emmett."

Alice doesn't say anything at first. Her expression says it all. After a few moments she finally asks, "What? When? Where?"

I hesitate, preferring not to go into any details, but wanting to keep things honest.

"He lives here in Portland, but he does business in Seattle during the week too. We've been spending time together there."

"Oh." She presses her lips together before taking a breath. "When did you meet him?" she asks calmly, although I know what she really means. _How long have you been keeping this from me?_

I stop and think. How long _has_ it been? I count back, and am a little shocked when I realize that it's been twelve weeks. The number seems so big and so small at the same time.

"Three months."

"Wow, that's a really long time," she says, and I can't mistake the hurt in her voice.

Of course, three months seems like a long time for a teenager. Most high school relationships don't come close to lasting that long. But it's not really that long, is it? Not for our situation. I mean, how long is too long? How long is long enough?

Alice looks away from me, and I can see the hurt on her face.

"What?" I ask, even though I'm pretty sure I know what she'll say.

"You should have told me, Edward. I mean, I told you about Jasper –"

"You snuck around with Jasper," I point out, eyesbrows raised.

She shakes her head. "Yeah, but only after I _tried_ to tell you how much I liked him. You just freaked out. I felt like I_ couldn't _talk to you about him."

I sigh. Alice has a point. At least she had the guts to try to talk to me about Jasper. After thinking some more for a moment, I shake my head. "No, Alice. I don't think so."

Her jaw drops open, as if she is truly surprised.

"We tell each other everything, Edward. That's the way we work. That's why we're special." There are tears in her eyes, and my chest hurts. I can't remember the last time I saw Alice cry.

"Alice…" I trail off, unsure of what to say. I can't stand to see her cry. I reach for her hand but she grabs it away, then glares at me again.

"We don't have anyone else, Edward," she says, angrily. "It's just me and you. I thought that…"

"That we're different?"

She nods.

Well, Alice is right about that. We _are_ different. Most teenagers' parents aren't their brother and most guys in their twenties don't have a teenager as their dependent. Girls her age have a mother to turn to and guys my age don't have to take a twelve-year-old to the drug store to buy tampons. Our situation is far from normal.

But that doesn't mean there aren't rules.

"Alice," I say softly, then I shift in my seat so that I'm next to her. "We _are_ different. And as much as I wish I could say that I will always tell you everything, I won't."

She glances up quickly, but before she can interrupt, I continue. "I can't, Alice. There are certain things that you just shouldn't have to deal with."

"Like what?" She asks, and her tone is softer, not as defensive.

"Like money. Bills and the mortgage. All of that is stuff you shouldn't have to think about, Alice. Not at your age."

She thinks for a moment, but finally nods. I continue.

"And work. I'm not going to complain to you about my boss every day, or other bad stuff from work."

She looks up at me, alarmed. "Bad stuff?" she asks, looking very worried.

"Nothing I can't handle." I assure her, then reach out and take her hand. She lets me.

"And my relationships," I say firmly. She raises an eyebrow. "Okay, _relationship_," I correct myself, and we both laugh a little.

"I met someone – someone really great – but I was worried. Worried about how things would turn out with him, whether he was someone I wanted you to be around. I may not be Dad, Alice, but I need to protect you."

She nods again, then looks up into my eyes, a sad expression on her face. "Were you worried that he might be like Garrett?"

I squeeze her hand. She knows me so well.

"Yeah, I did." But I was wrong. So wrong. Emmett isn't anything like Garrett. He may not be perfect, but he's perfect for me.

"But…" She looks up at me with hopeful eyes. "You like him? He makes you happy?"

"Yeah." I smile slowly, then laugh when I realize that I can actually feel myself blushing. "I do, and he does."

Alice laughs too, then gives me a teasing push. "Tell me about him, Edward. Tell me about Emmett."

She sits a little closer, and I smile some more. Then I do.

~.~.~.~

Later, Alice and I pull up in front of Bella's house in the Volvo. It's really late, but she had insisted that Bella _really_ needs her help shopping online for shoes for the prom. Apparently, it is a very urgent matter, and just can't wait until tomorrow night when I'm in Seattle. I'm pretty sure that shoe shopping is the very last thing that Alice wants to be doing, but I don't argue. Instead, I smile like an idiot. When Alice sees me smiling, she smiles too.

After one last hug, she hops out of the car and runs up to the front door. Her overnight bag is in her hand. She had told me that Bella thinks shoe shopping is going to take all night, and not to worry about her calling for a ride back home.

I really do have the best sister ever.

When she disappears into the house, my smile wavers just a little, and my stomach begins to twist with nerves. Driving on the dark road with an empty passenger seat makes me feel very alone. Suddenly, it seems like there is a lot of room to think.

I think about everything I have to say to Emmett, and everything he might tell me. I have so many questions for him and I want to hear his answers, but more than that I want to tell him about Alice.

It takes longer than I thought to get to Emmett's because I get lost twice. It's dark and I can't figure out which apartment building is his because the numbers on the building all seem to be covered by trees or shadows. Finally, I see his SUV parked near an entrance that must be his building. I pull the car into the lot and park, then close my eyes.

I take a deep breath, and then I take another. Then I smile. I have no idea what I'm waiting for. Nothing that I can think about out here all alone can be as good as seeing Emmett. I just want to kiss him. I can think about explanations later.

When I open my eyes, I see Emmett's SUV start up. Then his reverse lights come on as he backs out of his parking spot.

"Shit," I mutter under my breath as I hop out of the car. "Emmett!" I call out to him, but he must not hear me. By the time I make it across the lot, he is turning right onto the main road.

"Shit." I can't get back into my car fast enough. When I pull out of the lot and then turn right, I spot his SUV stopped at a light up ahead. Before I can catch up though, his light turns green. I grip the steering wheel firmly with one hand and pat my pockets with the other, then I check the seat next to me. Damn it. I must have left my cell at home. I tell myself to calm down – no need to plow through traffic and cause an accident – that I'll catch up to him. My gas tank is almost full, so wherever he is going, I will follow. I just can't lose him.

I follow him for a few minutes, watching his SUV like a hawk, then cursing some more when a guy in an even bigger SUV forces his way between us so he get through to the next lane and make a U-turn at the light. For a moment, I can't even see Emmett.

When he is in view again, I relax just a little. That is, until I get stopped at a red light and have to watch him drive off without me.

I groan loudly, not caring even a little bit that I'm stalking Emmett like a crazy person. I lean forward in my seat, as if that will make the light turn green any faster, as if that will get me closer to Emmett. It feels like I can't get close enough.

I watch until his black SUV disappears into the darkness, and all I see are red taillights from cars that I'm not even sure are his. Every minute drags on. When the longest traffic light in the history of traffic lights finally turns green, I press down on the gas as hard as I dare.

But I don't see him. I've lost him and I can't call him, and I have no idea where he is headed. I slow down for a moment and consider turning around and going back to his place and wait for him to return. Only… Glancing around, I realize that I recognize the neighborhood. All of the restaurants and stores are very familiar.

It's _my _neighborhood.

Emmett is coming to see _me_.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to dellaterra for betaing.**

* * *

**Emmett's POV**

When I pull up in front of Edward's house I almost turn around and go home. He hasn't answered my calls or texts all evening, but I couldn't stop myself from driving over here to see if maybe he would talk to me. I realized about halfway here that Alice might be home and it's not like I could just ring the doorbell. I kept driving anyway.

I park the car and look across the street from Edward's house. The driveway is empty. Edward isn't even here.

With only the glow of the streetlight above, I sit and watch the rain fall lightly, wondering what the hell I'm doing. I called my mother after I left Edward's office and she said that he would come around and talk when he was ready. Maybe I should just give him space. Maybe I should just drive home.

Maybe I should, but I can't seem to make myself leave. Instead I stare up at Edward's bedroom window. When I see headlights behind me I jump, but then sag when I realize that it couldn't be Edward. He would park in his own driveway.

When someone appears in front of me I jump, hitting my head on the roof of the car, then scramble to open the door.

"Edward, I–"

"Emmett, don't." His tone is so firm, so sure, that I stop cold. I stand there, waiting, and it feels like my heart has stopped completely.

Then he kisses me. My lips are open in surprise, but when it finally registers that Edward is kissing me, I kiss him back. I kiss him back hard. I wrap my arms around him and he does the same. We pull each other so close that we lose our balance, and I fall back against the car.

We kiss until I can feel my heart racing in my chest, until I can barely breathe and have to pull away for air.

"Edward," I whisper, then hold him against me a little tighter. "I'm so sorry."

"I know," he says quietly. "I know, and I'm sorry too."

I must look as confused as I feel, because he gives me a reassuring kiss before he continues.

"I'm sorry that I never told you how important you are to me. That I know you've done so much to make our relationship work. I think… Well I think that things would have been different if I had told you that."

I look him in the eyes, trying to absorb it all, but I have to interrupt. "Edward, you don't have to apologize. You told me from the beginning that we needed to take things slow–"

"I don't regret taking things slow. I don't regret that at all. But I wish that I had told you more how much everything you've done has meant to me. Patient and understanding doesn't even begin to cover how you've been over the last few months. And I haven't told you enough how much that means to me."

"Edward, you don't have to –"

"I do, Emmett. I should have been telling you this whole time. You've given me time and space and support. You've given me everything I asked for and more."

"And I fucked it up." No matter what he thinks, it doesn't change that fact. "I took everything that we had together and made you think that you couldn't trust me. Because I was scared that you cared for Garrett more than me, that if you had the chance you would want things to go back to how they used to be." I swallow hard, then glance behind Edward at the house. "I want so badly to be a part of your life here. I made a mistake, and I'm sorry."

Edward nods slowly, as if he believes every word. I can't feel more relieved, even though I know that there is more we need to say, so much more that we need to talk about. I don't want anything but the truth between us from now on.

The rain begins to come down harder, and Edward motions toward the house. "Let's go inside, okay? It will be pouring any second now." He takes my hand and starts across the street, but I stop him suddenly, remembering Alice.

"What about Alice? Is she home?" I look at the house warily. If she's in there, I can't be.

Edward shakes his head, smiling excitedly. "She's not home. And even if she were it would be okay. I told her about us." He beams, looking happier than I've ever seen him.

"You told her?" For a moment I wonder if maybe I'm dreaming. For days I've felt torn up inside, I've lost sleep, and I'd convinced myself that I'd lost the best thing that had ever happened to me. And now it seems that I have everything I've wanted, all at once.

He nods again, and before I can stop myself I'm hugging him, holding him, practically lifting him up off the ground. He told her. He told Alice about us.

I can't say anything, because nothing seems right to say. Instead I just squeeze him really tightly to me. Edward squeezes me right back, but after a minute he gasps for breath, and I realize that I may actually be crushing him.

Releasing him, I whisper, "Sorry."

"No more apologies. Not right now anyway."

"What did she say? Is she okay with everything? When can I meet her?" I bombard Edward with questions, wanting to know everything.

He laughs loudly. "I think it might be easier to tell you what she didn't say. She had more questions than you did." Edward grabs my hand and leads me to the house, then he looks over at me and smiles. "What were you going to do once you got here anyway? Throw rocks at my bedroom window until I came down to see you?"

"Hey, I wouldn't talk if I were you. I _thought _someone was following me through town."

Even in the dark I can see Edward blush. He grabs my hand and we make a run for the front door. It starts to pour right before we get under cover, so we're both a little wet.

We shrug off our damp jackets and while Edward hangs them up, I take a look around. The house is cozy, not in a grandmotherly way, but with a modern warmth, and I can picture myself being comfortable here. I can imagine being here a lot.

"Do I get a tour?"

He shakes his head. "Maybe later."

He pulls me down the hallways and I barely take in what I see around me. A bedroom to the left, pictures on the wall… It's all a blur as I follow Edward. I focus better when we pulls me up the stairs, not wanting to fall. When we reach a large bedroom, he stops and turns around suddenly, pulling me to him for a kiss.

I melt against him, and I can feel him doing the same, both of us looking for the warmth and comfort that we've been missing. When he pulls away, Edward stands there, almost frozen, except for his eyes that wander around the room before returning to me.

"What?" I ask, and glance around the room so that I can see what he does.

It's a large bedroom, modern and cozy like the rest of the house, but more masculine. There are large windows with drawn shades and a few pictures on the wall. It all looks very Edward, with nothing out of place. "What is it?"

Edward doesn't answer. He just shakes his head and I can see that his eyes are moist. My heart feels like it's actually slowing, as if any second now it's going to stop. Edward looks so sad, and I wonder to myself if he already regrets bringing me here.

"Hey… Are you okay?" I ask as I reach over to cup his cheek with one hand, pulling him closer with the other. "What's wrong?"

"I just…" Edward begins, leaning his face into my hand. "I wish I had told you before. I wish I had told you before how I feel about you. I'm sorry I ever gave you a reason to doubt how I feel."

"And," I swallow hard, my eyes never leaving his, "How do you feel about me?"

Slowly, Edward smiles, his eyes bright. It's like something inside of him is glowing, like he's being filled with light.

"I love you."

For a moment, I can't breathe. Then my heart goes from a slow, fearful pace to a million beats a second. Edward loves me. He loves me. I'm smiling so much that I'm not sure how I manage to speak.

"I love you too, Edward. So much."

We stand there, just looking at each other, and it's as if time has stopped. Then suddenly, as if we can't bear to waste another moment, we move. First my shirt is unbuttoned and thrown on the floor. Then Edward's is too. We undo each other's zippers at the same time, and when we're standing there in our underwear, Edward sort of whimpers, running his fingers over my stomach and I bite back a moan. Even just the tips of his fingers feel amazing. I've craved his touch so much, and it's only been a few days.

"I missed you, Emmett," he says quietly, as if he knows exactly what I'm feeling. Eyes locked on mine, he sinks down to his knees, then he slowly pulls my underwear down to my ankles. When I'm naked, his eyes move down to my cock. He stares at me like he hasn't seen me naked for months.

I can't help but chuckle. "Missed me? Or missed – _Fuck_." Edward takes me into his mouth, and it feels so good that I moan so loudly I'm sure his neighbors can hear it.

"Both," Edward says after he pulls away for a moment, stroking me with his hand and kissing my thigh. "I missed everything."

It's exactly the way I feel too. I've missed waking up next to him, talking, holding his hand, touching him. "I want you," I mumble, and he pushes down his own underwear as he stands back up. His cock brushes against mine, and I grab his ass and pull him to me, using so much force that his feet lift off the ground.

He laughs, then wraps his legs around me. He kisses me, and I walk unseeingly toward the bed, and when I hit my knees against it I release Edward. He doesn't let go though, and pulls me down with him. We end up with Edward wrapped around me, and me propped up on my arms, rolling my hips against Edward's.

His face is a mixture of pleasure and longing, but suddenly he laughs out loud.

"What?" I laugh with him, wondering if maybe I have food between my teeth or something embarrassing. He shakes his head and I lean down to nibble at his neck. "What?" I repeat, and we're laughing together, even though I have no idea what we're laughing about.

"I'm just so happy to be here with you," he says softly, and I sigh. His hands wander across my shoulders, down my back, and then back up again. When he runs his fingers through my hair, I can't help but sigh again. Everything - every little thing - feels so right with him. "Mmm, more," I say as I thrust my hips against his. I just want more and more. I want this to be forever.

His erection is hard against my stomach, and I want so badly to be inside of him, connected to him. "Fuck, Edward," I say as he thrusts back against me.

"Yes," he says. "Yes, Emmett. Fuck me. Love me. I love you so much."

I freeze, looking down at him, and my heart feels like it's going to burst. My body feels like it's been set on fire.

Edward moans. "Hurry, Emmett. Bottom drawer," he pants. "The black box on the left."

I scramble embarrassingly fast off the bed and dig into his nightstand. When I open the box he's talking about, I look up at him in shock. There are a lot of toys in there. A lot.

"What?" he laughs loudly. "A man has needs."

"A lot of them, apparently," I mumble through a smile as I dig through the items. I throw a bottle of lube on the bed.

"Later," he promises. "Right now I need you inside of me."

That's all I need to hear. I continue digging for a condom, but can't find any. When I look up, I see Edward lying with his eyes closed, slicked fingers preparing himself for me.

"Fuck."

His eyes fly open and he looks a little embarrassed. "Hurry, Emmett."

"Where are the condoms?"

"There are some in the side pocket of my suitcase. It's in the closet."

A minute later I'm back up on the bed between Edward's legs, rolling a condom on my very hard erection.

"Ready, baby?" I ask, lining up. Edward nods, and I press forward.

We both moan.

"Feels so good, Edward." He nods again, breathing deeply until I'm all the way in, my hips touching his ass.

I lean forward to kiss him. The moment my lips brush against his, he pulls me forward so that we're as close as possible, and thrusts his tongue in my mouth. I'm glad I can't talk. I'm not sure I could describe what I'm feeling anyway.

We kiss for a minute, until I can feel Edward squirm beneath me, forcing his hips up, signaling for me to move. So I move. Slowly at first, with my face buried in his neck. I can feel Edward everywhere. I can feel each one of his labored breaths, each moan as it shudders through his chest and leaves his lips. I can feel his hard cock between us, pressed against our stomachs, hot and heavy. But most of all I can feel him wrapped around me. I can feel his heat from the inside, holding me tightly, as I move in and out, as if I were made to love him.

"Fuck," I moan. "Edward, you feel incredible."

"Emmett," he gasps, his fingers digging into my back. I love the way he grabs me like he needs me. I love that I can see it and feel it for the first time. I know that it's true. Edward wants me as much as I want him. He loves me as much as I love him.

My man, my Edward, loves me.

With my hips still moving, fast and faster, I hold myself so that I'm above him. He looks up at me, eyes locked with mine and his mouth open. "I'm so close," he whispers.

His breathless words make my focus shatter, and my thoughts are uneven, seeming to come to me between my short breaths.

_You. Amazing. Me. Together. Perfect._

Between my breaths one thought is clear. So clear that it escapes my lips. And this time I don't even try to stop it.

"I love you, Edward. I'm always going to love you."

His reply comes between gasps as he comes between us. "Love. You. Emmett."

I come too, my orgasm so strong that I still as it takes over my body. The only part of me that I can move are my lips, so I kiss Edward. I kiss him again and again. Between kisses he repeats one word over and over. The same word that is in my head, the one I just can't stop thinking.

"Always."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**Thanks to dellaterra for betaing.**

* * *

**Edward's POV**

The sun is rising in the Seattle sky, framed by the large office window, and it's beautiful. Not as beautiful as earlier this morning though, when I stood watching it from our hotel window with Emmett's arms wrapped around me. It's the same morning, and the same city, but Emmett just made it so much better.

"Good Morning, Mr. Cullen," A quiet voice says behind me.

"Morning, Rebecca," I say as I turn around, smiling. I'm exhausted from staying up late with Emmett talking about our relationship, then "making up" over and over again, but it was definitely worth it.

"You look happy," she says, then hands me a cup of coffee. Cream, no sugar, just the way I like it. "Tired though. You look like you could use this. Is everything all right?"

"Everything is fine, thanks," I say, although I catch myself looking at the clock to see how much longer it will be until I can see Emmett again. Until we can fly back to Portland together, and I can bring him home again – this time to see Alice.

She smiles, then points to the rolled-up papers next to me. "Are those the latest plans?"

"Yes. Would you like to take a look?" I ask. She nods and I lay out the drawings.

Leaning over the table, I explain the latest changes, summarizing what I'll be going over today in the meeting. She seems genuinely interested, but every few minutes I catch her looking at me with a sad expression. I know that she's not completely oblivious to everything that is going on with Felix. She doesn't say anything about it, but I can tell that it's troubling her.

"And these," I continue, pointing out the top-floor offices, "are going to have the most amazing view." I try not to think about the fact that Felix will likely have one of those offices, but it's difficult to focus on anything about this project without thinking about him. It has ruined any joy that I used to get out of my job.

"Good morning, Edward."

The room goes from relaxed to tense in an instant.

"Rebecca, why don't you go down to the mailroom to see if I have anything?" Felix asks in a rude, commanding tone.

"Were you expecting−"

"Just go, Rebecca," Felix's voice is sharp now, instantly annoyed.

Rebecca nods, then with a quick, sympathetic glance at me, leaves the room.

I look up at the clock, and am disappointed to see that there are still another twenty minutes before people will start arriving for the meeting. Ignoring Felix, I continue setting up for the day.

When I hear the door shut, I can't help but freeze. All I can think is: _Trapped._

"Edward," he says, and I hear him walk up close behind me. "You seem to be very stressed. I can't help but get the feeling that, well, that you're afraid of me."

I take a few breaths, completely unsure of what to say. Something about Felix is unsettling. He wants me; he's made that perfectly clear. Most people would consider him to be very attractive, but there is something about him that makes me want to run in the opposite direction. Does that make me scared? I don't know. Either way, I would never admit it to him if I was.

"I'm not."

"Good, then turn around."

Slowly, I do, then immediately wish I hadn't. I have to look up to meet his eyes, which are looking back down at me with such intensity that it makes me shiver. As intense as his gaze is, his body language makes it seem that he's perfectly at ease. It's more than a little disconcerting.

His lips pull up into a smirk. "I'm glad it's not me you're scared of."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, Edward," he says as he slowly shakes his head. "You're scared of something. Look." He motions down to my hand, which is now gripping the side of the table. He reaches over to pry my fingers off, then takes my hand in his, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles as if to relax them. I yank my hand away.

"And what exactly is it that you think I'm scared of?"

He tilts his head and gives me a small smile. "Well, I'm not really sure. But I do know this: I'm the kind of person who knows what he wants – and you aren't."

I stare back at him, completely unsure of what to say. He takes a step closer, then leans in, his hands now gripping the edge of the table, forcing me to lean back so that we don't touch. His face right in front of mine, only inches away.

Everything in me says to push him away. To tell him to fuck off.

"Since you're so confused, Edward, maybe you should stop being so difficult and let me show you what you want. I'm sure you would enjoy every second."

All at once I feel so many things. Anger and frustration roll through me in waves until I am overcome with complete disgust. Felix is wrong – so wrong. I know exactly what I want. I want Emmett. I've wanted him from the very first moment, the second that he crashed into me at the airport. At first I didn't think I could have him, then I wouldn't let myself really have him. But I've always wanted him.

I stare at him, our faces so close, and his smile grows, as if he's already won. Then he reaches for me.

The thought of him touching me is the last straw. I push his hand away quickly, then I place my hands on his chest – and shove.

He stumbles back, looking completely shocked. For just a moment, in his confusion, I feel strong. And angry. So fucking angry. I walk up to him, then push him again. This time he doesn't stumble, just catches my wrist, which feels childish in his large hand. He grips it hard, then twists, so that my arm is behind my back and his lips are at my ear.

"That was a mistake, Edward, attacking me like that. You must not like your job very much."

I can't move. Pain shoots down my arm, and I bite my tongue to keep from crying out. It seems like forever that I'm stuck there, unmoving.

I'm just about to twist around, even if it means a broken arm, when I hear someone yell.

"Christ, Felix. Let him go!"

I look up and find Aro standing in the doorway. He looks more annoyed than angry, and he's shaking his head.

Felix doesn't move. His breath is hot in my ear, and it makes me feel nauseated.

"I said let him go, Felix," Aro repeats.

Slowly, Felix releases me. My arm aches, and I cradle it in front of me. Aro walks toward us, shaking his head.

"It looks as if you and Felix have had a bit of a misunderstanding, Edward."

I scoff. "That's an understatement."

Aro looks back and forth between us, then sighs. "Edward, whatever this was about, I'm sure that we can put it behind us. Don't you agree?"

He doesn't wait for me to answer; instead he looks at Felix and glares.

"Felix, I'd like to have a word with you. _Alone_. Meet me in my office."

It takes a minute, but eventually, and without even a glance in my direction, Felix walks toward the door.

Aro stares at me, completely calm, as if none of this just happened. "Well then. Until next week, Edward? You've really been doing a fabulous job."

Then he turns on his heel and leaves.

I'm not sure how long I stand there, completely stunned by what just happened. It's not until I hear a quiet voice next to me that I snap out of it.

"Are you all right?" I don't know when she entered the room, but there Rebecca is. She looks up at me with wide eyes. I glance down, unsure of what to say.

I want to ask her how long she's been here, what she's seen. But seeing her damp eyes and her trembling lip, I already know: She's seen it all.

"Thank you," I say instead of answering her, because the truth is I'm not all right. Not at all. "Thank you for finding Aro."

She nods slowly, then motions for me to sit down. But that's the last thing I want to do. I can't spend another second here in this room. I shake my head and gather my things, throwing them in my bag, crushing the drawings as I roll them up and place them in their tube.

I don't care that in a few minutes I'm supposed to be leading a meeting. I don't care that people are going to show up and wonder where I am. I don't care that Mr. Banner will call and fire me without listening to a word I say to defend myself. I just don't care.

With one last thank you to Rebecca, I leave.

I take the elevator down to the lobby, and then jump into the first cab I see, telling the driver to take me to the office of McCarty's Sporting Goods.

As we pull out into traffic my decision has already been made. I know what I want.

And I don't look back.

.~.~.~.

Emmett's face is bright red when I tell him what happened. His fists clench and his eyes go wide and I see more anger in his expression than I did the night we had that run-in with Felix.

Gently, I take his face in my hands and look him in the eye. Quietly, I whisper that everything is just fine and being angry isn't going to do any good. Then with a smile, I tell him that it's all a blessing in disguise, and that if the job is still on offer, I'll take it.

When Emmett blinks, my heart stops for just a second. I hold my breath and wonder if he had really meant it, if he really does want me to design the next McCarty Sporting Goods building.

Emmett's smile makes me breathe again and brings my heartbeat back to normal, although I'm not sure my heart will ever beat completely normally when I'm around him.

Instead of answering, he wraps his arms around me and squeezes. He squeezes and buries his face into my neck and gives me one of the best Emmett bear hugs he's ever given me, which is saying quite a lot.

When he mumbles into my neck, I don't even ask him to repeat himself. I already know that his answer is yes. His lips travel up my neck to my jaw and then my lips, then he mumbles some more about how perfect everything is turning out to be.

I laugh and nod, totally agreeing with him. Then I joke that all we need to do now is get through him meeting Alice, then maybe buy a few lotto tickets. Emmett stops squeezing me that very instant. His arms go limp and he looks at me with his eyes wide, only this time he looks terrified instead of angry.

"Don't worry, Emmett. She'll love you."

He doesn't look like he believes me. I really don't understand why.

"She'll love you because I love you," I say, and the L-word seems to make him melt a little.

"Tonight?' he asks, looking at the clock and counting the minutes.

I nod, then squeeze his hand a little. For once, I'm not worried about anything at all.

We decide just to leave early, taking a cab to the airport and then making our way to the gate. Emmett holds my hand the entire way, almost dragging me through the metal detector until the security agent tells him he just can't do that.

We get a drink at the bar by the gate, a bar not too different from the one in Portland where we had our very first date. Only this time I sit next to Emmett in the booth, and he squeezes my hand some more, even though it means he has to drink left-handed. He quizzes me about Alice, confirming things that he already knew, and asking a hundred more questions. By the time we're landing in Portland I can barely feel my fingers. I really don't care, I just want to be there for Emmett, no matter how silly all his worry is.

When I turn my phone back on I see a message from Alice telling me that she and Bella are working on a project, and won't be home until late.

"What are you smiling about?" Emmett is momentarily grinning, and I smile even harder knowing that my own smile is what put that grin on his face.

"Alice is going to be late," I say as I pull my bag down from the overhead bin. When I wiggle my eyebrows, Emmett's grin disappears and he gives me a very serious look.

"Edward, I'm meeting Alice tonight. Don't give me that look!"

"What look?" I glance over my shoulder as we walk down the aisle toward the exit.

"_That_ one," he whispers in a very serious voice. "How can you think of fooling around on a night like tonight?"

I laugh, and I can almost feel him glaring at the back of my head.

Emmett drives back to my house. I take advantage of having my hands free, and touch his arm, his thigh, then go in for what I really want. Then I squeeze.

"Edward!" It's difficult not to laugh. Emmett is so serious, and for once, serious is the emotion furthest from what I'm feeling. When I respond by innocent undoing a few of my shirts buttons, Emmett looks over at me and glares. I try not to smile.

Sudden moments of panic do creep in, but every time I feel like maybe I should be nervous, I remember the talk that Alice and I had, and anything resembling worry just melts away. Emmett would have to be a terrible, awful person for Alice not to love him. He would have to be a total and complete ass for her to hate someone that I love so damn much. Emmett isn't even close to terrible or awful, and the sort of blind confidence have that everything is going to be all right is something I don't remember feeling since before my parents died.

I feel great, but when we pull up in the driveway, Emmett kind of looks like he's going to puke.

"Come on," I say as I pull him out of the passengers seat and up the driveway. I open the door one-handed, just so he has the other one to squeeze. In the living room, I pull off my tie, then undo a few more of my shirt buttons.

"Edward, can you _please _stop trying to take your clothes off?"

When I reach for his shirt buttons instead, he rolls his eyes. Then I kiss his lips and he starts to relax just a little. My tongue explores his mouth and my free hand slowly rubs his back and can feel the moment that he gives in. Suddenly, he pulls away.

"Are you _sure_ that Alice won't be back until much later?"

"Not for at least a few more hours," I say seriously, having already mentally calculated how long I used to spend on projects taught by the very same teacher she has now.

"Well," he says slowly, a smile creeping onto his face. "As long as you're sure."

Before I know what is happening, Emmett pushes me back onto the sofa. It bangs into the wall behind it with a noise that makes me think we're actually going to break the house.

It could be that I'm pulling Emmett down, or maybe it's that he's pushing into me, but either way, our bodies are pressed so close together that he can barely pull up my shirt. Still half on top of me, he shrugs off his suit jacket, then goes for my shirt again. One of his hands is in my hair and the other is back up my shirt when I hear two very loud gasps.

I sit up so quickly that I practically push Emmett on to the floor. He sort of slides off the sofa looking completely shocked, before standing up quickly and trying to rearrange his clothes.

I'm almost too scared to look over, but when I do I see exactly what I expect: Alice and Bella staring at us, mouths hanging open.

Bella finds words before any of us do. "Oh. My. God."

"Alice!" I finally yell.

"Edward!" Alice yells right back.

Emmett just groans, then covers his face with his hands like he can make it all go away.

"Why are you home so early?"

"Why are you making out on the couch?"

We stare at each other for a moment, then we both start to speak at the same time. Then we both shut up again. After a moment, Alice shakes her head and laughs. All the laughter that I had been holding back earlier seems to find it's way to the surface and I laugh right along with her. Emmett is just as bright red as he was earlier in the afternoon, and Bella is staring at him with daggers in her eyes. I'm sure that Alice already told her I'm dating someone, and she doesn't seem to like it.

She's still staring at him when Alice walks across the room to us. She narrows her eyes when Alice throws her arms around Emmett. But she smiles just a little when he gives Alice a big bear hug, and Alice squeezes him back just as hard.

Maybe it shouldn't be this easy, especially when everything else about getting to this point has seemed so hard. But instead of questioning it, I stand up and wrap my arms around the two people in the world I love the most.


	22. Epilogue

**A/N: This fanfiction is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Feel free to share it, but attribute the work to me, and don't attempt to use it for commercial purposes.**

**So here we are, the epilogue. Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, recommended, and tweeted about this story. I can't tell you how happy it's made me knowing that you love these boys as much as I do.**

**A million thanks to _dellaterra_ and _Kitty Cullen _for their time and wonderful beta skills. Also, thanks to _smallandirritating _for her support. I never could have finished this story without the help of these wonderful ladies. **

**If after this you still want more, please check out my profile for _Another Tale: Outtakes and Extras from Two Cities_. There are already a few things posted there, with more silly, sweet, and smutty things to come in the future. **

* * *

**Edward's POV**

I'm not sure how it happened. One minute Alice is happy and laughing, practically dancing around the house; the next minute she's almost in tears.

Emmett looks over at me with wide, scared eyes.

I look back with the very same expression.

I just can't figure out what in the world would make Alice upset to the point of crying. I thought we had come to a point where our lives had reached a new normal, a good one. It's been about a month since I brought Emmett home to meet Alice, and every single day since then has been like some sort of dream.

Emmett and I go to work together in the morning and while we spend most of the day in our own offices, we still get to have lunch together almost every day. The new building for McCarty Sporting Goods isn't the type of thing that I'm used to designing, but the work has been both challenging and incredibly rewarding. It doesn't hurt that at the end of the day I get to drive home with the CEO.

Emmett still travels on Tuesday nights to Seattle, and while I miss him, it gives Alice and me some time to hang out, just the two of us. I'm not at the point yet where I'm ready to ask Emmett to move in with us, but I can see us getting there eventually. More than anything, I want us all to be happy – together.

And we have been happy. Everything has been so incredibly good – I just didn't see this coming.

"What's wrong, Alice?" I ask, desperately trying to think of what has happened in the last ten minutes that would make her so upset. I'm clueless, completely out of my element. After all these years of living with Alice, dealing with every awkward girl situation that you can imagine, I've never experienced anything like this, ever.

I'm not sure anything could have prepared me for the prom.

"What do you mean, _what's wrong_?" She waves her arms, then points at her face. "I look like a vampire!"

Both Emmett and I lean in a little closer, and examine the makeup that Bella smeared all over her face. It does look a little white. Okay, very white. There is a clear line along her jaw where the color of her neck clashes with the color of the makeup. The more I look at it, the more obvious it is.

"Is that not your color or something?" Emmett asks, scratching his head and lifting random bottles off the counter.

"I don't own any makeup. This is Bella's and it's _all wrong_." Alice leans back against the wall and closes her eyes. I'm completely and totally stunned that Alice_,_ of all people, is getting upset over makeup.

"I can't go. Not like this," Alice says and her lips quiver a little.

Bella runs into the bathroom wearing sweatpants and hair curlers. She frantically dumps her purse out on the floor, then searches through the mess. "Shit, Alice. I don't have anything in your shade. Shit."

I don't bother bugging Bella about her language. Apparently this situation calls for widespread panic.

"Okay, I'll take you to the store. We'll get you whatever you need, okay?" I pat my pockets and make sure that I have my keys.

"We don't have time!" Alice cries. "Jasper is going to be here in forty minutes and my hair isn't even done!" She points to her hair, as if she's pointing out an obvious problem, but I don't get it. I think Alice's hair looks just fine, but when I open my mouth to tell her so, Emmett stops me with a hand on my shoulder.

"I have an idea. You girls finish up with your hair, okay?" Emmett says as he drags me from the room. "I promise everything is going to be fine."

He shuts the door behind him, and before I can ask him exactly how the hell he can promise such a thing, he's has his phone up to his ear.

"Rose, it's me. You busy? We've got a girl emergency."

Seconds later he's hanging up the phone. We look at each other, then look at the clock. Thirty-eight minutes. To me it seems like all the time in the world to get ready for a night out, but after the mess we just experienced in the bathroom, I have no idea what to think.

Emmett and I don't say much while we wait. We just pace the living room floor, looking toward the front door whenever we hear a noise outside.

"How much longer do you think?" I ask, even though I know that Rose lives no less than twenty minutes from here. It's only been eleven.

Before he can answer, the front door slams open, and a tall, leggy blonde walks in, followed by a shorter woman with curly black hair.

"Where is she?" The girl who could only be Rose demands, looking around the room. When she spots me, she grins. "Edward!" she almost squeals, then races over and throws her arms around me.

"It's nice to meet you, Rose," I manage to say even though she's kind of squeezing the air out of me.

She takes a step back and looks me up and down approvingly. Before I know what's happening, I'm being pulled into another hug, this one even tighter than Rose's.

"Mom," Emmett whines, sounding a little embarrassed, but mostly pleased.

I hug her back, and it all feels very natural, not awkward at all. It feels good.

When she does pull away, she's all smiles, and I can see where Emmett got his dimples from.

"I am _so_ happy to finally meet you, Edward," she says and looks between us, where Emmett has grabbed my hand. She smiles. "Call me Evelyn, all right?"

I wasn't expecting to meet Emmett's mother and best friend like this, but it's great. It might even be better because I didn't have a chance to be nervous and worry about it for days beforehand.

"This is so sweet," Rose says with a smile, but her expression quickly turns serious. "Now, where are the girls?"

"Down the hall to the right," I say, pointing them in the direction of Alice's bedroom.

Rose and Evelyn pick up the bags that they threw on the floor when they came in, and run down the hallway.

I sigh in relief. It's out of our incapable hands now. I'm more than happy to hand the task of helping the girls over. Emmett squeezes my hand and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"They like you, you know," he says quietly, grinning.

"You think? It feels like Rose broke a rib." We laugh together for a moment, enjoying the relief of the situation. Before long though, we both look at the clock.

Twenty-five minutes.

I start to pace the living room again, but Emmett pulls me down to sit next to him on the couch.

I try unsuccessfully not to fidget. My knee bounces without my permission, and just when I reach up to tug my hair Emmett's hand wraps around my own.

"Do you need a distraction?" He asks with a chuckle.

"Sorry, I know it's silly of me to worry –"

"Nah, I think it's sweet." Emmett smiles, then squeezes my hand. "Do you know what else I think is sweet?" He moves closer to me, so that we're right next to each other on the couch. "Your lips."

He kisses me softly, and I laugh against his mouth.

"That was _really _cheesy," I say, but then I kiss him back.

"You know you love it."

Before I know it, we've gone from quick kisses to making out. We shouldn't be doing this, we learned our lesson last time – sort of – but when we both whisper that we should stop we just begin kissing again.

When the doorbell rings, we both jump, then act like we were never even kissing in the first place. I'm laughing, but when I remember who is at the door, I frown.

"Be nice," Emmett whispers as he follows me to the front door.

I give him an innocent look. How could he possibly think I would be mean to Alice's date?

When I open the door, there Jasper is, standing on the porch, wearing a tuxedo, and clutching a corsage like it's a lifeline. Next to him is a monster of a teenager, probably close to Emmett in size.

"Hello, sir," Jasper says with a very serious look on his face. "I'm here to take Alice to the prom. I promise I will take care of her and be a perfect gentleman and get her home safe."

I think he may have practiced those lines.

"By midnight," I say firmly, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Edward…" Emmett whispers next to me. He nudges my side. I sigh loudly.

"Fine. One a.m. Have her home by one or I'm calling Chief Swan."

Jasper nods vigorously, and I step to the side to let him in.

"Hey, I'm Jake," the larger teenager says as he slaps me on the back and steps inside. "Is Bella ready yet?"

I narrow my eyes at him but Emmett just laughs, then answers for me.

"We'll go see if they're ready." He grabs my hand and leads me down the hallway. When we get to Alice's room, we both relax at the sound of giggling coming from inside. Giggling is good. It means that nobody's crying.

When I knock, Rose opens the door with a huge smile. "They're ready."

Emmett and I step into Alice's room, which is empty. The girls must be in the bathroom.

For some reason, I'm nervous. Seeing Alice upset earlier surprised me. I had no idea that the prom was so important to her. Now that I know that, it seems so much more important to me too. Again, Emmett reaches for my hand and squeezes.

A moment later, the bathroom door opens, and out steps Alice. She looks beautiful. Her dress is black with red trim, and she's wearing red Chucks instead of heels. Her hair looks different, more spiky instead of hanging straight around her face. Her eye shadow is simple, and the makeup on her face is just the right shade for her skin. She doesn't look like a vampire at all.

She looks just like our mother.

Next, Bella steps into the room, wearing the exact same dress except that it's red with black trim, and black Chucks instead.

The both look absolutely giddy, and take turns twirling around in their dresses as we all applaud.

They really do look great, but I can't help but laugh. "Alice, how did you get Bella to wear sneakers to the prom?'

Alice giggles. "We made a deal. If I wore makeup and let her pick the dress, she wouldn't make us wear heels."

Shaking my head, I smile some more. I'm so grateful that Alice and Bella have each other as friends.

"Now girls, your dates are here," Emmett's mom says, pushing them both toward the door.

Alice and Bella share an excited smile, then everyone walks toward the door. But before Alice can leave the room, I tug on her hand, pulling her back from the group. She turns around to face me, looking up at me with questioning eyes.

"You… you look beautiful, Alice. Just like mom." For a moment, it seems like she might cry again. Instead she throws her arms around me and squeezes.

"I love you, Edward," she whispers, and I place a kiss on top of her head.

When she pulls away, she puts a hand on her hip, then shakes a finger at me. "Now don't you and Emmett get into any trouble tonight."

I throw my hands up and put on an innocent expression. "I swear we won't."

"Good." She picks up her purse from a pile of stuff on the bed. "I'll be home by midnight, okay?"

"Two."

"What?"

"You can stay out until two. Just call to check in once you leave to go to Jessica's party, okay?" I press my lips together after I say it, trying to stop myself from taking it back. I stayed out past two plenty of times when I was a teenager, but it's a lot harder to tell Alice it's okay to do so.

"You're the best, Edward," she says with one last quick hug.

In the living room, Emmett's mother is busy taking pictures of Bella and Jake in front of the fireplace. Then Alice and Jasper take their place, posing together. I may take fifty or so pictures myself, until Alice and Bella complain that I'm overdoing it.

We all walk to the front door, chatting away, and I look over at Bella next to me. "Have fun tonight, okay, Bella?"

Bella doesn't even seem to know I'm there. She's still looking up at Jake with big eyes, going on and on about what kind of music she hopes they play at the prom.

"Um, Bella?" I place a hand on her shoulder and she finally looks over at me.

"Yes, Edward?" Bella asks, as if she's noticing me there for the first time.

Next to me, Emmett chuckles. Jake kind of smirks a little. I'm not sure if I like him or not. "I said to have fun tonight. And be safe, okay?"

"Oh, sure, Edward. Don't worry about us." Before she even finishes her sentence, she's already looking back at Jake, smiling.

We all watch as Alice, Jasper, Bella, and Jake walk to the car, then as the boys hold the doors open for the girls. Alice waves from the passenger, and we all wave back.

"How wonderful," Emmett's mother sighs and then leads us all inside. She and Rose head back to Alice's bedroom to gather their things, and from the size of the bags, I guess that it's going to take a little while.

I pull Emmett to the couch to get comfortable. "I hope they have fun. And are safe." I frown. "Jasper is growing on me, but that Jake kid seems like he might be trouble."

Emmett roars with laughter. "You're just saying that because you're jealous!"

"Jealous?" My jaw drops open, then shut again. "I'm not _jealous _of a sixteen-year-old kid, Emmett. And even if Bella was of age, I thought you would have noticed that she isn't exactly my type."

Emmett shifts so that he's sitting closer. "I'm just kidding, Edward. But it does look like her little crush on you is over."

I roll my eyes. "Now that I think about it, I kind of feel bad for Jake. Bella can be quite a handful."

"Suuure," Emmett says with a chuckle, then leans over and kisses me through his smile.

It doesn't take long for our kisses to go from innocent to heated, and before I know it, Emmett is half on top of me again.

"Ahem."

We really have to stop doing this.

We both freeze, then scramble to right ourselves.

"Having fun boys?" Rose asks with a smirk, her hands on her hips.

Red-faced, we both look at the floor.

"Well, I guess we'll be going then," Emmett's mother says as she places a bag on the coffee table, then pulls out a large container that's holding half of a frosted chocolate cake.

"Sweet! Cake!" Emmett bounces in his seat a little.

I smile my thanks, still embarrassed from being caught practically mauling her son.

"You boys have a good night," Rose says with a wink as she head toward the door.

"Be good," Emmett's mother says with a quiet laugh as she shuts the door behind them.

All of a sudden it's quieter than it's been all day. There is no music from Alice's iPod, or giggling girls, or nervous teenage boys. It's just me and Emmett.

"So… What do you want to do?" Emmett asks with raised brows.

"Your mom told us to be good" I say, then lean forward and kiss him softly on lips.

"You mean like don't watch porn and stuff our faces with cake all night?" Emmett's hand snakes around my waist, pulling me toward him, and I swing my leg around so I can straddle him.

"Yeah, probably not. We probably shouldn't have really hot sex all night either," I say as I begin unbuttoning his shirt, then kiss his neck.

"Definitely not." He's a little breathless, and his hips begin rocking up into me slowly.

"We have to be responsible adults," I say against his skin, my hands in his shirt, fingers caressing his chest.

"Right. Responsible." His hands cover my ass, pulling me up against him hard.

I pull back quickly, looking him right in the eye. "I don't want to be responsible, Emmett."

He licks his lips, then runs his hands down my thighs. "Oh yeah?"

"I don't," I say with the wickedest smile I can manage. "I want you to fuck me as many times as you can before two in the morning."

Emmett grins, then stands up, taking me with him.

"I think I can handle that."


End file.
